BULLETIN    OF    THE     UNIVERSITY    OF    WISCONSIN 

NO.  638 

HISTORY  SERIES,  VOL.  3,  No.  2,  PP.  137-392 


THE  MINING  ADVANCE  INTO  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


A  COMPARATIVE  STUDY  OF  THE  BEGINNINGS  OP  THE  MINING 
INDUSTRY  IN  IDAHO  AND  MONTANA,  EASTERN  WASH- 
INGTON AND  OREGON,  AND  THE  SOUTHERN 
INTERIOR  OP  BRITISH  COLUMBIA; 
AND  OP 


INSTITUTIONS  AND  LAWS  BASED  UPON 
THAT  INDUSTRY 


BY 
WILLIAM  J.  TRIMBLE, 

Professor  of  History  and  Social  Science, 

North  Dakota  Agricultural  College 

Sometime  Fellow  in  American  History, 

The  University  of  Wisconsin 


A    THESIS    SUBMITTED   FOB    THE   DEGBEE    OF   DOCTOB    OF   PHILOSOPHY 
THE  TJNIVEBSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


MADISON,  WISCONSIN 
1914 


BULLETIN    OF  THE    UNIVERSITY   OF  WISCONSIN 

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BULLETIN    OF    THE     UNIVERSITY    OF    WISCONSIN 

No.  ess 

HISTORY  SERIES.  VOL.  3,  No.  a,  PP.  137-392 


THE  MINING  ADVANCE  INTO  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


A  COMPARATIVE  STUDY  OF  THE  BEGINNINGS  OP  THE  MINING 
INDUSTRY  IN  IDAHO  AND  MONTANA,  EASTERN  WASH- 
INGTON AND  OREGON,  AND  THE  SOUTHERN 
INTERIOR  OF  BRITISH  COLUMBIA; 
AND  OF 


INSTITUTIONS  AND  LAWS  BASED  UPON 
THAT  INDUSTRY 


BY 

WILLIAM  J.  TRIMBLE, 

/// 
Professor  of  History  and  Social  Science, 

North  Dakota  Agricultural  College 

Sometime  Fellow  in  American   History, 

The  University  of  Wisconsin 


A   THESIS    SUBMITTED   FOR    THE    DEGREE    OF    DOCTOR   OF    PHILOSOPHY 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


MADISON,  WISCONSIN 

1914 


CONTENTS 


TM 
23 

T7 


CHAPTER        I.    Introduction:  The  Region  and  the  Movement.. 


PAGE 
7 


PART  I 

A  SURVEY  OF   THE   HISTORY  OF  THE  MINING  AD- 
VANCE INTO  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE,  1855-1870 
CHAPTER        I.    The  Incipient  Rush  to  Colville  and  the  Indian 

Uprising  of  1855-6 15 

CHAPTEB       II.    The  Rush  to  Fraser  River 24 

CHAPTER      III.    Preparations  for  a  Decisive  Advance  of  the  Fron- 
tier          32 

CHAQTER      IV.    Cariboo,  Kootenai,  and  the  Upper  Columbia. ...        46 
CHAPTER       V.    The  Mining  Advance  into  Idaho,  Eastern  Oregon, 

and  Montana   62 

PART  II 

ECONOMIC  ASPECTS  OF  THE  MINING  ADVANCE 
CHAPTER      VI.    Methods  of  Production  and  Organization  of  In- 
dustry          87 

CHAPTER    VII.    The  Product  and  its  Utilization 101 

CHAPTER  VIII.    Transportation    119 

PART  III 

SOCIAL  ASPECTS  OF  THE  MINING  ADVANCE 

CHAPTER      IX.    Components  and  Characteristics  of  Society 139 

CHAPTER       X.    Education  and  Religion 168 

PART  IV 

LAW  AND  GOVERNMENT 
CHAPTER      XI.    The  Establishment  of  Government  and  Law  in 

British  Columbia 187 

CHAPTER    XII.    The  Evolution  of  Order  and  Law  in  the  Ameri- 
can Territories    216 

Bibliography   248 

Index 

[139] 


PREFACE 


This  study  has  been  made  possible  by  the  use  of  the  stores  of 
a  number  of  libraries,  both  public  and  private,  and  by  the  gen- 
erous co-operation  of  friends  who  are  interested  in  history. 

No  more  earnest  and  efficient  public  service  is  rendered  in 
our  time  than  that  by  librarians.  The  author  desires  to  make 
cordial  acknowledgment  of  the  unfailing  helpfulness  of  the  staffs 
in  charge  of  the  libraries  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  the 
University  of  Idaho,  the  University  of  California,  and  of  the 
North  Dakota  Agricultural  College ;  of  the  city  libraries  of  Spo- 
kane, Seattle,  and  Portland,  and  of  the  collections  of  the  Montana 
Historical  Society,  the  Oregon  Historical  Society,  the  Provincial 
Library  and  Archives  of  British  Columbia,  and  the  Academy  of 
Pacific  Coast  History.  In  particular  I  wish  to  extend  my  thanks 
to  Mrs.  Ethel  McVeety,  Librarian  of  the  North  Dakota  Agricul- 
tural College,  Mr.  Frederick  J.  Teggert  and  Mr.  Porter  Garnett 
of  the  Academy  of  Pacific  Coast  History,  and  to  Mr.  E.  0.  L. 
Scholefield,  Provincial  Librarian  of  British  Columbia. 

Generous  access  has  been  given  to  the  valuable  private  collec- 
tions of  Hon.  C.  B.  Bagley,  of  Seattle,  Mr.  Justice  Martin  of  Vic- 
toria, and  his  Honour,  Judge  Frederick  W.  Howay  of  New  West- 
minster. 

No  one  who  has  felt  the  kindly  spirit  and  received  the  sugges- 
tive criticism  of  Professor  Frederick  J.  Turner  (now  of  Harvard 
University)  can  fail  to  be  grateful.  Acknowledgments  are 
particularly  due  to  Professor  Turner,  and  also  to  Mr.  T.  C. 
Elliott,  of  WaUa  Walla,  Washington,  Hon.  W.  J.  McConnell,  of 
Moscow,  Idaho,  Judge  W.  Y.  Pemberton,  of  Helena,  Montana, 
Judge  F.  W.  Howay,  of  New  Westminster,  British  Columbia, 
and  to  Professor  Frederick  L.  Paxson,  of  the  University  of  Wis- 

[141] 


6  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

consin.     These  gentlemen  read  my  manuscript  patiently  and 
critically  and  furnished  many  helpful  suggestions. 

I  am  indebted  also  to  Messrs.  McConnell,  Pemberton,  and 
Bagley  for  pioneer  reminiscences  and  illuminating  suggestions. 
This  sort  of  assistance  was  courteously  extended,  likewise,  by  Mr. 
Holter,  of  Helena,  Major  J.  Gr.  Trimble  (lately  deceased)  of 
Berkeley,  Cal.,  and  Dr.  James  S.  Helmncken  and  Mr.  Gilbert 
Malcolm  Sproat  of  Victoria. 


[142] 


THE  MINING  ADVANCE  INTO  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  REGION  AND  THE  MOVEMENT 

For  almost  a  decade  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California, 
the  precious  metal  industry  in  the  United  States  was  carried  on 
extensively  only  within  that  state.  The  decade  following  1858, 
however,  was  characterized  by  the  expansion  of  the  industry  on 
a  large  scale  into  many  parts  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  area.  In 
this  process  of  expansion  certain  movements  or  fields  may  be 
differentiated  for  convenience  of  study.  One  movement  took 
place  to  the  Southwest,  another  into  the  Pikes  Peak  region,  a 
third  into  Nevada,  and  a  fourth  into  the  far  Northwest.  The 
last  is  plainly  differentiated  from  the  other  movements  either 
because  of  location  or  character  of  development,  while  the 
various  districts  which  it  reached  were  well  connected  by  homo- 
geneity of  population  and  relationship  of  development.  It  is 
difficult,  however,  to  find  for  this  movement  a  name  at  once 
sufficiently  succinct  and  comprehensive. 

It  should  be  made  plain  at  the  outset  of  this  study  that  the 
term  Inland  Empire,  as  applied  in  the  title,  is  used  more  as  a 
convenient  name  for  a  movement  than  as  a  precise  geographical 
designation.  The  region  with  which  we  are  concerned  includes 
(in  terms  of  present  political  boundaries)  the  southern  interior 
of  British  Columbia,  eastern  Oregon  and  Washington,  western 
Montana,  and  Idaho.  When  this  region  began  to  attract  wide 
attention  about  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  in  the  United  States, 
because  of  a  series  of  great  mining  "rushes",  it  was  known 
vaguely  in  the  East  as  the  "  Northwest ",  while  along  the  west- 
ern coast  it  was  spoken  of  frequently  as  the  "Northern  Interior". 

[143]    : 


8  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Today  it  is  generally  included  in  the  term  Pacific  Northwest,  and 
it  might,  perhaps,  well  be  designated  as  the  interior  of  the 
Pacific  Northwest.  But  differentiation  is  often  made  in  the 
United  States  between  the  Pacific  Northwest  and  British  Colum- 
bia; and  so,  in  the  absence  of  any  definite  term  applicable  to 
the  whole  region  under  consideration,  I  have  ventured  to  make 
use  of  one  commonly  applied  only  to  the  central  area  within  this 
region.  Yet  a  growing  use  of  the  term  "Inland"  in  southern 
Idaho  and  of  the  "Inland  Empire  of  British  Columbia"  may 
give  some  sanction  to  wider  application  for  the  sake  of  conven- 
ience. Its  extension  to  the  Missouri  slope  of  Western  Montana, 
however,  is  defensible  only  from  the  point  of  view  that  the  devel- 
opment of  the  early  mining  industry  in  that  quarter  formed  a 
part  of  the  general  movement  into  the  Inland  Empire. 

Considered  as  a  whole,  this  vast  region  possesses  very  con- 
siderable physiographic  unity.  Diversities,  to  be  sure,  are  to  be 
found,  as,  for  example,  between  southern  and  northern  Idaho; 
but  the  country  is  clearly  differentiated  from  the  eastern 
plains  and  from  the  western  coast.  The  latter  distinction  is 
most  clearly  marked, — travelers  emerging  from  the-  dense  fir 
forests  of  the  coast  to  the  plateau  of  the  interior,  either  by  way 
of  the  Columbia  or  the  Fraser,  observed  that  the  trees  (here  of 
pine)  became  far  less  dense  or  disappeared  altogether  in  great 
bunch  grass  plains,  that  the  rainfall  was  much  less,  that  pecul- 
iar terraces  were  found  along  the  rivers,  and  that  instead  of 
the  "canoe  Indians"  of  the  coast,  there  now  appeared  a  better 
type,  the  "horse  Indians".  The  inland  plateau  itself  is  dis- 
tinctive. Covering  the  country  from  far  into  British  Colum- 
bia to  the  confines  of  Nevada  and  California,  and  from  the 
Cascades  to  the  Rockies,  is  an  immense  lava  formation  of  many 
layers.  Its  average  depth  is  estimated  at  2,000  feet,  and  its 
extent  200,000  square  miles.1  Rising  above  the  lava 


1  Bulletin  U.  8.  Geol.  Sur.  No.  108,  p.  11.  This  monograph  Is  by  I.  C.  Russel, 
one  of  the  best  authorities  for  the  physiography  of  the  Inland  Empire.  Profes- 
sor Russel  characterizes  the  lava  formation  as  follows :  "This  vast  inundation 
of  lava  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and,  I  may  say,  one  of  the  most  dramatic 
incidents  in  the  geological  history  of  North  America.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that 
all  of  the  lava  poured  out  by  volcanoes  within  historic  times,  if  run  together, 
would  make  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  mass  under  which  the  region  drained  bj 
the  Columbia  is  buried." 

[144] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  9 

plateau  are  the  partially  submerged  peaks  and  mountain  ranges 
of  the  primeval  country,  and  on  the  eastern  border  the  lava 
thins  out  into  gulfs  and  bays  among  the  Rocky  Mountains.2 
In  the  Rocky  Mountains  or  in  the  off-shoots  westward 
from  these  mountains — the  Owyhee,  the  Boise,  the  Salmpn 
River,  the  Bitter-root,  and  the  Cariboo  ranges,  and  the  Okano- 
gan  highland — were  located  the  various  mining  camps  about 
which  we  are  to  study.3  From  the  Rockies  flowed  the 
three  great  river  systems  which  became  important  factors  in 
transportation  to  these  camps — the  Missouri,  the  Fraser,  and 
the  Columbia.  The  two  latter  are  much  alike.  Both  are  noted 
for  the  swiftness  of  their  current  and  the  ruggedness  of  their 
canons;  both  swing  far  northward,  and  both  receive  from  the 
East  a  great  tributary  (in  the  one  case,  the  Thompson,  in  the 
other,  the  Snake) ;  both  have  fine  navigable  stretches  in  their 
upper  courses  which,  as  the  rivers  plunge  from  the  plateau,  are 
interrupted  by  formidable  obstacles;  and  both  form  magnificent 
waterways  from  the  last  of  these  obstacles  to  the  ocean.  The 
districts  drained  by  these  systems,  likewise,  have  much  of  phy- 
siographic similarity.  The  Line  of  49',  the  boundary  between 
British  Columbia  and  the  American  territories,  was  drawn  at 
right  angles,  so  to  speak,  to  the  physiographic  inclination  of 
the  country.  From  the  point  of  view  of  physiography  it  would 
seem  that  there  was  not  sufficient  differentiation  north  and 
south  of  the  political  boundary  materially  to  modify  the  devel- 
opment of  society.  In  other  words,  so  far  as  the  country  was 
concerned,  the  development  of  institutional  life  was  likely  to 
be  identical. 

Civilized  society  took  possession  of  this  region  both  north  and 
south  of  the  Line  through  a  great  movement  of  miners,  which 
occurred  in  the  decade  following  1855.  Previous  to  that  year, 
it  is  true,  there  had  been  within  the  region  such  forerunners 
of  civilization  as  fur  traders,  explorers,  and  missionaries,  and 

s  An  Important  phase  of  the  geology  of  Montana  is  discussed  in  Some  Volcano 
Ashbedf  of  Montana,  by  J.  P.  Rowe,  Mont.  Univ.  Bull.  No.  17,  Geol.  Series,  No.  I, 
1903. 

3  A  succinct  and  satisfactory  treatment  of  the  physiography  of  British  Colum- 
bia is  that  by  Geo.  M.  Dawson,  in  Geol.  Sur.  of  Canada,  Vol.  Ill,  pt.  II,  pp.  5R- 
15R.  A  bibliography  is  appended. 

[145] 


10  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

through  its  southern  part  had  proceeded  the  immigration  on 
the  Oregon  Trail;  but  the  institutions  of  civilized  society  had 
not  been  established  upon  the  soil  of  the  Inland  Empire.  These 
the  Mining  Advance  produced. 

The  advance  of  the  miners  into  the  British  and  American 
portions  of  the  region  was  practically  contemporaneous,  and 
the  various  rushes  were  interrelated.  "A  flood  of  picks  and 
pans"  (as  writers  in  the  midst  of  events  styled  it)  spread  over 
the  country  in  successive  waves,  beginning  with  the  Colville 
country  in  1855.  Between  1858  and  1866  rushes  occurred 
(using  present  political  designations)  in  British  Columbia  to 
Fraser  River,  Bock  Creek  and  the  Similkameen,  Cariboo,  Koot- 
enai,  and  the  Upper  Columbia;  in  eastern  Oregon,  to  John 
Day  River  and  to  Powder  River;  in  Idaho,  to  the  Nez  Perces 
mines,  Salmon  River,  Warren's  Diggings,  Boise,  and  Owyhee; 
and  in  Montana,  to  Grasshopper  Creek,  Alder  Gulch,  and  Last 
Chance.  There  was  constant  migration  between  these  various 
camps,  which  political  boundaries  did  not  seriously  interrupt. 

The  general  unity  of  the  movement  was  greatly  increased  by 
the  presence  everywhere  of  Californians.  It  is  true  that  in 
different  fields  different  outcroppings  (if  the  phrase  be  permis- 
sible) of  population  appeared.  Thus  in  Cariboo,  for  example, 
the  British  element  was  more  apparent  than  in  most  camps 
south  of  the  Line;  men  from  Missouri  and  Colorado  were  con- 
spicuous in  Boise  Basin,  while  still  another  admixture  was 
formed  by  the  people  from  Minnesota  who  came  to  Montana. 
But  a  stratum  of  Californians  was  to  be  seen  everywhere,  and 
these  produced  throughout  the  region  a  similarity  in  methods 
of  mining,  in  manners  of  society,  in  interests,  and  in  the  sort 
of  institutions  that  tended  spontaneously  to  spring  up.4 

There  are  three  points  of  view,  the  statement  of  which  may 
be  of  value  in  considering  the  mining  advance  into  the  Inland 
Empire. 


*  Californians,  of  course,  went  to  most  American  camps,  and  there  were  also 
relationships  between  many  of  the  camps  of  the  region  we  are  studying  and 
Nevada  and  Colorado.  But  the  main  point  which  is  here  sought  to  be  made  it 
that  in  the  constituent  elements  of  the  population  of  the  mining  camps  north  and 
touth  of  the  Line,  there  were  not  sufficient  divergencies  wholly  to  account  for 
variations  in  types  of  institutions. 

[146]   ' 


TRIMBLE—MINING  ADVANCE  11 

In  the  first  place,  this  movement  was  part  of  the  formation 
and  advance  of  an  eastward  moving  frontier.  American  pop- 
ulation, which  had  advanced  westward  up  to  1840  in  compar- 
atively gradual  and  connected  movements,  in  the  decade  1840-50 
leaped  to  the  Willamette  and  the  Sacramento  j  now  it  was 
recoiling  eastward  and  in  this  recoil  was  meeting  the  old  fron- 
tier, which  was  still  advancing  westward.  In  this  beginning 
of  the  fusion  of  frontiers  there  was  an  interesting  commingling 
of  men  reared  in  the  East  and  of  the  men  habituated  to  Cal- 
if ornian  ideas  and  usages.  New  problems  were  created  (among 
which  the  condition  of  the  Indians  was  the  most  grave),  new 
industrial  and  social  forces  were  generated,  and  older  ones  re- 
shaped or  accentuated. 

A  somewhat  elated  poem  of  the  time,  published  in  Montana, 
indicates  the  swiftness  of  change  wrought  by  this  meeting  of 
frontiers : 

"The  star  of  Empire  Westward  takes  its  way; 
When  Bishop  Berkeley  wrote  ivas  very  true, 
But  were  the  Bishop  living  now,  he'd  say 
That  brilliant  star  seems  fixed  to  human  view. 

"From  Eastern  hives  is  filled  Pacific's  shore — 
No  more  inviting  sun-set  lands  are  near; 
The  restless  throng  now  backward  pour — 
From  East  to  West  they  meet,  and  stop  right  here. 

"Away  our  published  maps  we'll  have  to  throw — 
The  books  of  yesterday,  today  are  lame 

"And  towns  and  roads  are  made  on  every  side, 
In  shorter  time  than  books  and   maps  are  bound."5 

A  second  point  of  view  in  the  consideration  of  the  mining 
advance  is  that  it  was  a  movement  based,  primarily,  on  a  single 
industry.  Whether  north  or  south  of  the  Line,  in  British  Co- 
lumbia, Idaho,  or  Montana,  men  talked  of  mines,  struggled  for 


5  H.  N.  Maguire  in  the  Montana  Post,  republished  In  the  Owyhee  Avalanche 
Feb.  10,  1866. 


[147]    . 


12  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

mines,  and  founded  their  laws  and  institutions  on  mines.  Other 
forms  of  industry  were  subsidiary  to  mining.  (By  mining,  of 
course,  is  here  meant  mining  for  the  precious  metals.)  The 
growth  of  this  industry  in  this  region,  moreover,  was  related 
to  the  evolution  of  the  industry  in  other  sections,  and,  there- 
fore, adequate  treatment  should  include  reference  to  the  more 
important  phases  of  the  general  development  then  going  on  in 
precious  metal  production. 

The  third  and  principal  point  of  view  of  this  study  is  that 
of  comparison  between  British  Columbia  and  the  territories  to 
the  south  during  the  period  of  the  mining  advance.  While 
there  would  seem  to  be  sufficient  unity  in  the  history  of  the 
whole  region,  during  this  period,  to  justify  an  attempt  to  treat 
it  as  a  whole  and  to  segregate  it  from  other  movements  of  the 
time,  yet  the  main  thesis  here  offered  is  that,  in  spite  of  unify- 
ing natural  tendencies,  the  accidental  political  Line  did  cause 
deep  cleavage  in  the  formation  of  institutions.  In  two  similar 
parts  of  the  same  region,  with  a  population  having  many  of  the 
same  elements  and  occupied  in  the  same  industry,  distinct  dif- 
ferentiation did  occur;  and  the  phases,  sources,  and  tendencies 
of  this  differentiation  will  be  a  recurring  theme  in  this  history. 

The  plan  of  presentation  contemplates:  (1)  a  survey  of  the 
history  of  the  mining  advance;  (2)  special  treatment  of  its 
economic  and  social  aspects;  (3)  consideration  of  problems  of 
government. 


[148] 


PART  I 

A  SURVEY  OF   THE   HISTORY   OF   THE   MINING   AD- 
VANCE INTO  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE,  1855-1870 


[149] 


TRIMBLE—MINING  ADVANCE  15 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   INCIPIENT  RUSH   TO   COLVILLE,  AND   THE   IN- 
DIAN  UPRISING  OF  1855-1856 

Ft.  Colville,  which  for  thirty  years  had  been  the  chief  inland 
post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  became  the  first  important 
center  for  mining  development  in  the  Inland  Empire.  It  stood 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  Columbia  on  the  second  terrace  back 
from  the  river,  and  in  1855  comprised  a  stockade  which  par- 
tially enclosed  a  dwelling  house,  several  rude  huts,  a  black- 
smith shop  and  a  few  storehouses, — all  made  of  squared  logs 
and  all  somewhat  decayed.  The  chief  clerk  of  this  establish- 
ment was  Angus  MacDonald,  an  intelligent  Scotchman,  and 
the  habitues  of  the  place  were  some  twenty  Canadians  and 
Iroquois  Indians.  Three  miles  from  the  Fort  was  a  good  flour 
mill,  in  which  was  ground  wheat  raised  by  the  French  settlers, 
whose  scattered  farms  dotted  for  nearly  thirty  miles,  the  beau- 
tiful Colville  valley.1  The  mining  district  of  which  this  fort 
became  the  center  had  no  definite  limits,  but  was  held  to  com- 
prise in  general  the  territory  lying  east  of  the  Columbia  and 
between  the  Spokane  and  Pend  d'Oreille  Rivers.2 

Who  first  discovered  gold  in  this  region,  we  do  not  know  nor 
is  the  question  important.  Various  roamers  through  the  wild- 
erness,— explorers,  French-Canadians,  mountain  men, — with 
interest  sharpened  by  the  discoveries  in  California,  had  hap- 
pened on  gold  in  divers  localities,  but  their  discoveries  had 
brought  no  results.3  In  the  late  summer  and  fall  of  1855,  how- 


1  Stevens's  Report  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  33rd  Cong.  2nd  Sess.,  Sen.  Doc. 
Vol.  7,  No.  37,  p.  8.  Life  of  Stevens,  Vol.  1,  p.  348. 

•Olympia  Pioneer  and  Democrat,  Sept.  28,   1855. 

1  Thus  Me  Clellan  had  discovered  gold  on  the  Wenatchee  in  1853  and  Findlaj 
or  Benetsee  in  Montana  in  1852,  Pacific  Railway  Reports,  Vol.  12,  p.  120; 
Contributions  to  the  Historical  Society  of  Montana,  Vol.  2,  p.  121.  The  first 
discovery  on  the  Pend  d'Oreille  was  made  by  Walker,  a  half-breed.  Letter  of 
Judge  B.  F.  Yantis,  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Democrat,  Nov.  23,  1855. 

[151] 


16  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  WISCONSIN 

ever,  a  movement  occurred  to  the  vicinity  of  Ft.  Colville,  which 
had  some  of  the  characteristics  of  a  genuine  miners'  ''rush," 
and  which  ushered  in  the  gold  era  in  the  Inland  Empire. 

Considerable  numbers  of  the  citizens  of  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington participated  in  this  movement  and  prospected  in  the 
Colville  mines  in  the  fall  of  1855.  The  interest  was  increased 
by  business  stagnation  in  the  Willamette  and  on  the  Sound.* 
Some  idea  of  the  extensiveness  of  the  movement  may  be  in- 
ferred from  scattered  notices:  "Suddenly  all  eyes  turned  to 
Colville,"  said  the  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Democrat.  "Many  of 
our  best  men  have  gone  prospecting."  Governor  Curry  wrote 
to  General  Nesmith  that  many  Oregon  citizens  had  gone  to  the 
Pend  d'Oreille  mines;  Steven's  messenger,  Pearson,  met  a 
company  of  ten  or  fifteen  men  near  the  Umatilla  River  on  their 
way  to  the  mines;  Stevens,  himself,  a  little  later  enrolled  eigh- 
teen miners  in  his  "Spokane  Invincibles ; "  Yantis  reports 
twenty  men  at  work  on  one  bar ;  organized  parties  explored  the 
country  under  the  leadership  of  well  known  citizens.5  It  is 
apparent,  therefore,  that  at  that  time  a  movement  took  place  of 
some  magnitude. 

The  reports  brought  back,  a  number  of  which  were  made  by 
reliable  and  conservative  men,  were  of  such  a  nature  as  to  in- 
spire further  efforts.  It  seemed  that  gold  could  be  found  al- 
most anywhere  between  the  Spokane  and  the  Pend  d'Oreille, 
but  that  the  deposits  were  small  and  superficial.6  Still,  men 
made  with  pan  and  rocker  three  to  six  dollars  per  day,  and  a 
few  twelve.  Explorations  many  miles  up  the  Pend  d'  Orielle 
failed  to  show  any  large  deposits,  but  MacDonald  at  Fort  Col- 
ville told  the  miners  that  chances  were  better  farther  up  the 
Columbia — a  suggestion  not  without  fruit  in  the  later  discovery 
of  mines  on  Fraser  River.7 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  miners,  however,  were 
great.  The  gold  was  light  "float"  gold,  for  the  economical  col- 


*Deady,  History  of  the  Progress  of  Oregon  after  1845,  Ms.,  p.  37;  Olympia 
Pioneer  and  Democrat,  Sept.  14,  1855. 

6 Id.;  34th  Cong.,  3rd  Sess.,  Ex.  Doc.,  Vol.  9,  No.  76,  p.  158,  Oct.  16,  1855; 
Pioneer  and  Democrat,  Sept  28,  1855,  and  Nov.  23,  1855. 

•  Report  of  Col.  Anderson,  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Democrat,  Sept.  28,  1855. 

7  Report  of  Judge  Yantis,  id.,  Nov.  23,  1855. 

[152] 


TRIMBLE—MINING  ADVANCE  17 

lection  of  which  quicksilver  and  the  sluice  system  were  needed. 
Supplies  were  scanty  and  men  were  living  on  flour  and  coffee.8 
There  were  no  suitable  roads  from  the  Sound  over  the  precip- 
itous mountains,  and  steamboat  traffic  on  the  Columbia  was  just 
starting.  Hence,  transportation  was  not  yet  organized,  and 
organized  transportation  is  vital  to  the  success  on  a  large 
scale  of  distant  mining  operations.  But  the  most  baffling 
obstacle  to  the  adventurers  was  difficulties  with  the  Indians. 

The  Indians  of  eastern  Washington,  in  number  about  twelve 
thousand,  were  not  to  be  despised  as  enemies.  Living  in  an 
exhilerating  climate,  on  an  elevated  plateau,  thoroughly  accus- 
tomed to  the  use  of  the  horse,  and  having  a  variety  of  food, 
they  constituted  in  physique  and  mind  a  fine  race.9  The  Nez 
Perces,  inhabiting,  for  the  most  part,  the  country  lying  east- 
ward from  the  present  city  of  Lewiston,  Idaho,  were  the  largest 
and  best  ordered  tribe,  and,  though  not  wanting  in  warlike 
qualities  (as  Joseph's  warfare  subsequently  proved),  they  were 
nevertheless  distinguished  for  their  friendship  to  the  whites. 
This  peace  policy  of  the  Nez  Perces  should  be  emphasized  as  the 
most  important  fact  in  the  history  of  the  Indian  wars  of  the 
Inland  Empire.  North  of  the  Nez  Perces  lived  the  Coeur  d' 
Alenes,  Spokanes,  Pend  d'  Oreilles,  and  Flatheads.  A  third 
group  was  to  be  found  south  from  the  Nez  Perces,  and  consisted 
of  the  Walla  Wallas,  Cayuses,  and  Umatillas.  Over  the  Blue 
Mountains  was  the  desert  country  in  which  roamed  the  Sho- 
shones — banditti  they  above  all  other  tribes.  Another  group, 
important  particularly  because  of  the  position  it  occupied,  was 
the  Yakima.  The  Yakima  country  lay  west  of  the  Columbia — 
between  that  river  and  the  Cascade  Mountains.  The  position 
was  central,  therefore,  both  to  the  Sound  Indians  and  to  the 
tribes  of  the  farther  interior  and  the  principal  chiefs  of  the 
tribe  were  related  to  the  chiefs  in  both  regions.  Moreover,  this 


8  Report  of  A.  B.  Stuart,  id.,  Sept.  9th,  1855. 

» Many  writers  of  the  time  comment  on  the  marked  differences  between  the 
Indians  of  the  interior  and  the  "fish"  Indians  of  the  coast,  who  lived  almost  ex- 
clusively on  salmon  and  who  traveled  in  canoes.  Travelers  in  British  Columbia 
made  the  same  observation.  For  example,  Kipp,  The  Indian  Council  at  Wallet 
Walla,  p.  6 ;  Anderson,  Alex  C.,  Handbook  and  Map  to  the  Gold  Regions  of{ 
Frazer's  and  Thompson's  River,  p.  6. 


[153] 


18  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

territory  lay  directly  in  the  path,  of  the  mining  advance. 

The  head  chief  of  the  Yakimas,  Kamiakin,  who  was  charged 
by  the  whites  with  being  the  chief  instigator  and  organizer  of 
the  Indians  in  their  efforts  to  stay  the  white  advance,  was  an 
Indian  worthy  of  note.  All  accounts  agree  that  in  physique 
and  countenance  he  was  impressive.  He  was  tall  and  athletic, 
though  somewhat  slovenly  in  dress.  His  face,  generally  gloomy 
and  thoughtful,  lighted  up  wonderfully  in  speech,  "one  mo- 
ment in  frowns,  the  next  in  smiles,  flashing  with  light  and  black 
as  Cerebus  the  same  instant."  Speech  with  him,  however,  was 
rare,  for  he  had  the  demeanor  of  a  grave,  proud  man.  He  re- 
fused to  be  baptized  as  a  Catholic,  because  he  would  not  put 
away  his  surplus  wives.  Jealous  of  his  rights  and  especially 
watchful  against  attempts  to  acquire  the  Indian  lands,  he  trav- 
eled widely,  striving  to  arouse  the  Indians  to  their  peril.  He 
may  be  regarded  as  an  Indian  statesman,  who  with  devotion  to 
the  customs  of  his  race  and  love  for  the  superb  land  in  which 
he  lived,  tried  as  best  he  might  in  feeble  Indian  fashion  to  unite 
the  unorganized  tribes  against  the  dreaded  white  advance 
which  he  saw  now  impending.10 

The  Indians  of  the  Inland  Empire  were,  indeed,  in  bad 
plight.  The  tribes  of  the  east  had  been  pushed  ever  farther 
westward,  but  with  both  frontiers  closing  in  upon  these  In- 
dians, whither  should  they  go?  Everywhere  throughout  the 
tribes  was  the  fear  of  being  dispossessed  of  their  lands  and 
everywhere  uneasiness.  This  dread  and  uneasiness  extended  to 
the  Indians  on  the  Sound.  The  whites,  after  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities,  claimed  that  a  general  conspiracy  had  long  been 
brewing  and  that  Kamiakin  was  the  arch  conspirator;  .but  it 
is  evident  now  that  conditions  in  different  localities  had  made 
matters  ripe  for  desperate  measures  on  the  part  of  the  Indians 
without  any  deliberate  plan  of  action.11  They  shrank  from  the 
coming  of  white  settlers  and  especially  of  miners,  for  they 
knew  something  of  the  troubles  that  had  befallen  the  Indians 


10  References  on  Kamiakin :     Winthrop,  Theodore,  The  Canoe  and  the  Saddle, 
p.  237;  Life  of  Stevens,  Vol.  2,  p.   38;  Indian  affairs  Report,  1854,  p.  234; 
Wright  to  Wool,  Message  and  Documents,  1856-7,  pt.  2,  p.  160. 

11  Remarks  of  J.  Ross  Browne,  35  Cong.,  1  Sess.,  App.,  p.  494. 

[154] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  19 

in  California.12  Chiefs  of  the  Yakimas,  Cayuses,  and  Walla 
Wallas  had  said  to  Gen.  Alvord  at  The  Dalles  in  1853  that 
"they  always  liked  to  have  gentlemen,  Hudson  Bay  Company- 
men  or  officers  of  the  army  or  engineers  pass  through  their 
country,  to  whom  they  would  extend  every  token  of  hospitality. 
They  did  not  object  to  persons  merely  hunting,  or  those  wear- 
ing  swords,  but  they  dreaded  the  approach  of  the  whites  with 
ploughs,  axes  and  shovels  in  their  hands."13  It  can  readily  be 
seen,  therefore,  that,  with  the  Indians  feeling  thus,  the  coming 
of  the  miners  to  Colville  was  likely  to  precipitate  hostilities.14 

Another  cause  of  the  Indian  outbreak,  however, — so  army 
officers  in  particular  claimed, — was  the  treaties  made  by  Gov- 
ernor Stevens  in  the  summer  of  1855.  A  great  council  was 
summoned  by  him  to  meet  at  Walla  Walla,  which  was  attended 
by  large  numbers  of  the  Nez  Perces,  Cayuses,  Walla  Wallas, 
Umatillas,  and  Yakimas.  <A11  of  the  tribes  were  suspicious  and 
semi-hostile  at  this  council,  except  the  Nez  Percys;  and  even  of 
them  a  faction  plotted  with  the  malcontents.  Kamiakin  ve- 
hemently opposed  any  cession  of  land  and  rejected  all  presents 
from  the  whites.  But  at  length  the  friendliness  towards  the 
whites  on  the  part  of  the  majority  of  the  Nez  Perces  under  the 
leadership  of  their  head  chief,  Lawyer,  prevailed,  and  treaties 
were  signed  which  provided  for  the  forming  of  three  reserva- 
tions and  the  paying  of  large  annuities.  The  Nez  Perces  were 
to  receive  the  beautiful  country  lying  mainly  between  the  Snake 
River  and  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains ;  the  Yakimas  were  to  have 
their  homes  in  the  valley  of  the  river  that  bore  their  name; 
and  the  remaining  tribes  were  assigned  tracts  in  eastern 
Oregon.15 

These  treaties  were  subjected  to  bitter  denunciation  by  army 
officials,  who  claimed,  as  mentioned  above,  that  they  were  a  main 


12  Also  Wool  in  Message  and  Documents,  1856-7,  pt.  2,  Rpt.  Sec'y  of  War,  p.  81. 

13  Life  of  Stevens,  Vol.  2,  p.  625. 

14  See  on  this  Roder,  Capt.  Henry,  History  of  BelUngham  Bay,  MS.,  pp.  19  and 
20. 

16  A  pleasant  narrative  of  this  council  is  that  by  Lawrence  Kipp,  The  Walla 
"Walla  Council,  Indian  Pamphlets,  Vol.  14,  No.  10,  and  republished  in  "Sources  of 
the  History  of  Oregon",  F.  G.  Young,  editor.  A  good  account  is  found  also  In 
Life  of  Stevens,  Vol.  2,  pp.  34-65.  Text  of  treaties  is  given  in  57  Cong.,  1st 
Sess.,  No.  542,  p.  521-531. 


[155] 


20  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

cause  of  the  war  which  broke  out  in  the  fall  of  1855.1R  Their 
ratification  was  delayed  for  four  years  by  the  Senate,  in  part 
because  of  the  large  annuities  provided.  John  Sherman  said 
that  the  government  might  more  cheaply  bring  all  the  Indians 
to  New  York  and  board  them  at  the  Hotel  St.  Nicholas.  But 
Stevens 's  course  was  in  reality  statesmanlike.  Although  the 
Donation  Act  was  to  expire  by  limitation,  December  1,  1855, 
there  was  still  time  for  settlers  to  take  up  claims.  Under  this 
act  Congress  had  authorized  settlers  to  take  claims  before  any 
attempt  had  been  made  to  extinguish  the  Indian  title.  More- 
over, Stevens,  foreseeing  the  impending  advance  of  the  whites 
and,  as  chief  advocate  of  the  northern  route  for  the  Pacific 
railway,  favoring  settlement,  believed  that  the  reservation  sys- 
tem was  the  only  refuge  for  the  Indians.17  At  any  rate  these 
treaties  were  the  first  definite  step  under  government  sanction 
in  preparation  for  white  occupation  of  the  Inland  Empire. 

The  suspicions,  regrets,  and  resentments  aroused  in  the  minds 
of  the  Indians  by  these  treaties  perhaps  contributed  to  the  out- 
break of  war.  The  chances  of  trouble  of  course  were  increased 
from  the  fact  that  the  main  passes  from  the  Sound  to  the 
eastern  country,  as  we  have  before  mentioned,  lay  through  the 
Yakima  country.  The  Indians  later,  in  extenuation  of  their 
course,  claimed  that  the  miners  en  route  had  violated  their 
women;  Stevens  tried  to  verify  this  statement,  but  was  unable 
to  do  so.18  All  accounts  claim  that  the  miners  were  from  a  good 
class  of  citizens  on  the  Sound.  The  first  to  be  killed  were 
Mattice  and  Fantjoy  or  Fanjoy,  "both  respectable  men  from 
the  state  of  Maine."  The  attacks  on  separate  individuals  con- 
tinued incessantly  during  September.  It  is  to  be  noted  that 
the  exasperation  on  the  part  of  the  whites  caused  by  such 
attacks  lay  not  alone  in  lives  actually  lost,  but  also  in  making 
lines  of  travel  so  insecure  as  to  hinder  development  of  the 
country.  The  total  number  of  men  lost,  however,  was  not  incon- 
siderable to  a  small  community;  one  newspaper  on  the  Sound 


"  For  example,  Wright  to  Wool,  Message  and  Documents,  1856-7,  p.  160. 
"  For  a  statement  of  Steven's  policy  see  Rpt.  Com.  Ind.  Af.,  1854,  pp.  247-249. 
18  Message  and  Documents,  1856-7.     Wright  to   Wool,  p.  152,  May  30,   1856; 
35  Cong.  1st  Sess.,  App.  491. 

[156] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  21 

counted  up  thirteen  of  the  residents  of  the  immediate  vicinity 
who  were  known  to  have  been  slain  and  reported  several  others 
missing.19  Matters  came  to  a  climax  when  A.  J.  Bolon,  agent 
for  the  Yakimas,  was  murdered  by  Qua-lchien,  nephew  of  Kam- 
iakin.  Thereupon,  Major  J.  G.  Haller  led  a  company  of  regulars 
into  the  Yakima  country  only  to  be  driven  out  with  consider- 
able loss.  At  about  the  same  time  some  of  the  Sound  Indians 
took  to  the  war  path,  and  the  war  became  general. 

The  details  of  the  war  of  1855 — 56,  though  stirring  and  inter- 
esting, may  be  found  elsewhere.20  A  chronological  resume  of 
the  events  directly  concerning  the  interior  country  1855 — 56 
would  include:  the  calling  out  of  large  numbers  of  volunteers 
both  in  Oregon  and  Washington  in  the  fall  of  1855 ;  the  ex- 
pedition of  Major  Raines  into  the  Yakima  country;  the  daring 
return  of  Stevens  from  the  Blackfoot  council ;  a  decisive  engage- 
ment between  Indians  and  Oregon  volunteers  in  the  Touchet 
valley  in  December;  a  surprise  by  the  Indians  at  the  Cascades 
in  March  of  1856;  an  expedition  by  Col.  Wright  into  the 
Yakima  country;  a  fight  between  Washington  Volunteers  and 
Indians  in  Grande  Ronde  valley;  a  second  council  by  Governor 
Stevens  at  Walla  Walla,  and  an  attack  by  the  Indians  on 
himself  and  escort;  and,  finally,  the  establisment  in  the  fall 
of  1856  of  Ft.  Walla  Walla, 

The  policy  of  General  Wool,  who,  as  commander  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Pacific,  was  supreme  military  head  in  this  war, 
is  worthy  of  note,  especially  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  min- 
ing history.  Volunteers,  called  forth  by  the  governors  both 
of  Washington  and  Oregon,  took  very  active  part  in  the  cam- 
paigns, much  to  the  disgust  of  General  Wool.  He  claimed  that 
the  war  had  been  precipitated  by  the  treaties  of  Stevens,  that 
the  volunteers  had  entered  it  largely  in  order  to  plunder  the 
Indians,  and  that  citizen  speculators  had  fostered  it  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  more  money  into  the  country  from  the  Fed- 
eral Government.  In  pursuance  of  his  position  towards  the 
volunteers  and  the  work  of  Stevens,  he  issued  the  following 


19  Olympia  Pioneer  and  Democrat,  Oct.  19,  1855. 

10Meaney,  Edmund  S.,  History  of  the  State  of  Washington,  pp.  176-202;  Ban- 
croft, H.  H.,  Works,  Vol.  xxxi,  pp.  108-200. 

[157] 


22  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

order:  "No  emigrants  or  other  whites,  except  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  or  persons  having  ceded  rights  from  the  Indians,  will 
be  permitted  to  settle  or  remain  in  the  Indian  country,  or  on 
land  not  ceded  by  treaty,  confirmed  by  the  Senate  and  approved 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

' '  These  orders  are  not,  however,  to  apply  to  the  miners  engaged 
in  collecting  gold  at  the  Colville  mines.  The  miners  will,  how- 
ever, be  notified  that  should  they  interfere  with  the  Indians, 
or  their  squaws,  they  will  be  punished  or  sent  out  of  the 
country. '  '21 

This  order  is  interesting  from  at  least  two  points  of  view. 
Jn  the  first  place,  Wool  regarded  the  interior  country  as  a 
natural  reserve  for  the  Indians,  who  might  there  be  separated 
from  the  whites  on  the  Sound  by  the  Cascade  Range,  "a  most 
valuable  wall  of  separation."  In  the  second  place,  he  ex- 
«epted  from  his  order  the  miners — the  most  immediate  cause  of 
trouble.  Why  did  he  make  this  exception  ?  Certainly  he  had  no 
special  favoritism  to  show  these  men,  for  they  were  most  likely 
to  defeat  the  policy  at  which  he  aimed.  From  a  legal  point  of 
view,  the  miners  were  at  that  time  simply  trespassers  upon  the 
public  domain.23  It  may  be  surmised  that  the  custom  of  the 
miners  of  unconscious  trespassing  and  their  claim  of  implied 
recognition  to  such  right  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  may 
have  influenced  this  martinet  to  make  the  relaxation  in  their 
favor. 

The  Attitude  of  the  military,  however,  did  stay  further  min- 
ing development  south  of  the  Line  for  a  period.  Since  the 
Indians  were  unchastised  and  murderers  such  as  Qualchien 
were  not  surrendered  for  trial,  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  was 
such  as  to  make  the  interior  country  unsafe.  In  traveling 
through  it,  all  parties  had  to  exercise  "Constant  watchfulness 
and  care:"  so  much  so  that  it  was  unsafe  for  the  passage  of 
pack  trains  or  for  prospecting.24 

In  several  respects,  however,  this  war  helped  to  prepare  for 

»  34th  Cong.  3d  Sess.,  Vol.  I,  j)t.  2,  p.  169. 
»  See  further  on  this  point,  Life  of  Stevens,  Vol.  II,  p.  226. 
•Blanchard  and  Weeks,   The   Law  of  Miners,  Minerals   and  Mining   Water 
Rights,  p.  92 ;  Davis,  Historical  Sketch  of  Mining  Law  in  California,  p.  213. 
•*  R.  H.  Lansdale  in  Report  Com.  Ind.  Affairs  1857,  No.  154,  p.  377. 

[158] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  23 

later  advance.  The  military  operations  in  the  upper  country 
and  the  establishment  of  Ft.  Walla  Walla  stimulated  the  devel- 
opment of  transportation  on  the  Columbia,  and  particularly  so 
in  efforts  to  overcome  the  difficulties  at  the  Cascades  and  the 
Dalles.  Moreover,  the  warrants  of  the  war  debt  for  the  services 
of  the  volunteers,  which,  it  was  assumed,  would  be  paid  by  the 
general  government,  circulated  as  an  inflated  medium  of  ex- 
change and  formed  capital  wherewith  to  promote  enterprises 
of  all  sorts.  A  thoughtful  observer  writes:  "Portland  I  think 
was  quite  slow  and  dull  until  this  Indian  war  concentrated  a 
good  deal  of  business  here.  There  were  a  good  many  operations 
and  of  course  a  large  portion  of  this  scrip  was  concentrated 
here.  Traffic  and  the  impetus  to  business  given  by  it,  was  felt 
here."25  The  war  claims  amounted  to  no  less  than  $6,000,000, 
of  which  sum  not  quite  half  was  finally  paid.  This  formed  a 
large  addition  of  capital  for  the  scanty  populations  of  the  Will- 
amette and  the  Sound.26 


**Deady,  Hist,  of  the  Progress  of  Oregon  after  18+5,  Ms.,  p.  37. 

26  A  good  statement  concerning  this  war  debt  is  found  in  the  Financial  History 
of  Oregon,  by  F.  G.  Young,  Some  Features  of  Oregon's  Experience  with  the  Finan- 
cial Side  of  Her  Indian  Wars  of  the  Territorial  Period,  Quar.  of  Oregon  Hi*t. 
Boc.,  June  1907,  Vol.  VIII,  No.  2,  pp.  182-190. 


[159] 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  RUSH  TO  FRASER  RIVER 

The  magnificent  domain  now  known  as  British  Columbia  in 
1855  was  all  but  untouched  by  civilization.  Over  it  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  was  still  paramount.  The  mainland  they  held 
by  virtue  of  an  exclusive  license  to  trade,  and  Vancouver  Island 
they  owned  as  a  colony  by  Parliamentary  grant.  The  chief  factor 
of  the  company,  James  Douglas,  was  also  Governor  of  Vancou- 
ver Island.  The  principle  post  was  Victoria,  where  a  few 
houses  clustered  around  the  fort  of  the  company.  On  the  main- 
land the  posts  of  chief  interest  to  this  history  were :  Ft.  Langley 
on  the  south  bank  of  the  Fraser,  twenty  eight  miles  above  the 
mouth;  Ft.  Hope  sixty  miles  farther  up,  its  sight  a  "lovely 

plateau  ,  environed  with  lofty  and  shaggy  mountains ; ' ' 

Ft.  Yale,  the  extreme  head  of  steamboat  navigation  on  the 
lower  River,  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  above  Ft.  Hope;  and  Ft. 
Thompson,  far  in  the  interior  on  Thompson  River.1  Roads 
there  were  none,  save  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  brigade 
trail  up  the  Fraser.  The  interior  of  the  country,  cut  off  by 
the  canons  above  Ft.  Yale,  was  inconceivably  remote,  unknown, 
and  inaccessible. 

The  more  remote  and  inaccessible  a  country  might  be,  how- 
ever, the  more  alluring  it  often  seemed  to  miners.  Stimulated 
in  part  no  doubt  by  the  suggestions  of  Angus  MacDonald,  of 
Colville,  gold  seekers  ranged  northward  from  the  Colville 
mines  in  the  fall  of  1855.2  As  example  of  one  of  these  adven- 
turers we  may  mention  James  Taylor,  of  Olympia,  who  with 


3  A  clear  map  showing  these  posts  is  found  in  Bancroft,  Hist.  Pac.  Btatea,  Vol. 
XXVII,  p.  177. 

"  Indians,  indeed,  had  been  bringing  into  Kamloops  small  quantities  of  gold 
since  1852.  De  Groot,  British  Columbia;  its  condition  and  prospects,  p.  4. 

[160] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  25 

a  small  party  made  his  way  by  Nachess  pass  to  the  Colville  dis- 
trict and  thence,  in  August,  1855,  struck  across  the  Okanogan 
country  and  penetrated  as  far  as  Thompson  River.3  Mac- 
Donald  wrote  to  Governor  Douglas,  on  the  first  of  March  1856, 
that  gold  had  been  found  in  considerable  quantities  on  the  Co- 
lumbia within  British  territory,  and  that  he  believed  that  val- 
uable deposits  would  be  discovered;  and  this  information 
Douglas  transmitted  to  the  Colonial  Secretary.4  But  the  dis- 
position of  the  Indians  towards  Americans  in  the  summer  of 

1856  hindered  further  development  for  a  time.5     The  Indians 
themselves,   however,    did   some   work.6     The    developments   of 

1857  are  summarized  by  De  Groot  as  follows:     " During  the 
summer  and  fall  of  1857,  a  number  of  persons,  being  mostly 
adventurers  from  Oregon  and  Washington   territories,   of  the 
Colville  mines,  together  with  a  sprinkling  of  half  breeds  and 
Canadian  French,  formerly  in    the    company's    service,    made 
their  way  into  the  country  on  the  upper  Fraser,  where,  pros- 
pecting in  the  neighborhood  of  the  forks,  they  found  several 
rich  bars,  on  which  they  went  to  work,  continuing  operations 
with  much  success,  until  forced  to  leave  from  want  of  provi- 
sions on  the  approach  of  cold  weather.     Coming  to  Victoria, 
or   returning    whence    they    came,    these    men    spread    abroad 
the   news   of  their    good   luck   and   laid   the     foundation     for 
the  excitement  that  soon  after  followed. '  '7    Douglas,  also,  noted 
the  excitement  abroad,  particularly  in  the  American  territory.8 

By  the  latter  part  of  March,  1858,  the  news  from  Fraser 
River  was  of  such  character  as  to  produce  a  real  furore  on  the 
Sound.  On  the  twenty-second,  the  Herald  at  Steilacoom  issued 
an  extra  in  which  it  announced  that  miners  on  Fraser  and 
Thompson  Rivers  were  making  from  eight  to  fifty  dollars  per 
day,  and  that  the  Indians  were  friendly.  Within  a  week  mills 
were  compelled  to  shut  down  from  lack  of  laborers,  and  vessels 
were  deserted.  All  the  hands  at  the  Bellingham  coal  mines 


3  Victoria  Gazette,  July  10,  1858. 

4  Hazlitt,  Br.  Col.  4  Van.  Id.,  p.  128. 

6  Letter  of  Douglas,  Oct.  24,  1856.     Id.,  p.  129. 

•Dec.  29,  1857.     Id.  p.  130. 

T  De  Groot,  British  Columbia;  Its  Condition  and  Prospects,  p.  13. 

8  Letter  of  Douglas,  Dec.  29,  1857 ;  Hazlitt,  Br.  Col.  and  Van.  Id.,  p.  130. 

[161] 


26  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

quit  work.9  Soldiers  deserted.  Around  Victoria  nearly  all  the 
floating  populace  left.10  The  villages  of  the  lower  Sound 
stirred  with  new  life:  Port  Townsend  was  "like  a  bee  hive;" 
Whatcom  took  measures  for  cutting  a  trail  from  that  place  to 
intersect  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  Brigade  Trail,  and  weeks 
of  labor  were  consumed  on  this  trail  before  it  was  found  not 
feasible.  As  shiploads  of  miners  from  California  came  pouring 
into  the  various  ports,  many  towns  aspired  to  be  the  "San 
Francisco"  of  this  northern  movement.  "Whatcom  and  Sehome 
at  first  took  the  lead,  and  later  Semiamoo,  out  near  Point  Rob- 
erts, attracted  attention.  In  all  these  places  throngs  gathered, 
faro  banks  sprang  up,  and  speculation  in  lots  throve ;  but  finally 
the  advantages  of  Victoria  and  the  policy  of  Governor  Doug- 
las smothered  these  ambitious  booms. 

Meantime,  there  was  in  progress  from  California  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  "rushes"  in  the  history  of  mining  movements. 

Conditions  in  California  at  this  time  were  favorable  for  a 
swift  and  great  exodus  of  population  to  a  promising  field.  The 
exportation  of  gold,  which  by  1853  had  mounted  to  $57,330,000, 
had  fallen  in  1857  to  $48,976,000.11  Moveover,  the  conditions 
and  methods  of  production  were  changing.  At  first  it  had  been 
comparatively  easy  for  men  to  find  good  claims  which  could  be 
cheaply  worked ;  or,  if  they  were  compelled  to  work  tempor- 
arily for  another,  there  was  no  sense  of  inferiority  to  the  em- 
ployer on  the  part  of  the  laborers.  But  now,  with  the  exhaus- 
tion of  the  surface  placers,  there  was  increasing  necessity  for 
the  employment  of  capital  on  a  large  scale  and  of  resort  to 
corporate  methods  in  order  to  work  the  deep  diggings.  In 
the  attempt  to  engage  in  operations  on  a  large  scale  many  in- 
dividuals had  hazarded  and  lost  previous  gains  and  were  now 
burdened  by  debt.  Many  small  claims  were  yielding  only 
very  moderate  returns  in  comparison  to  those  of  flush  times, 
and  new  claims  were  to  be  found  only  after  long,  expensive, 
and  uncertain  prospecting.  Men  who  had  been  accustomed 
to  large  returns  and  to  independence  became  restive  and  dis- 


•Puget  Sound  Herald,  Mar.  26,  1858. 

10  Letter  of  Douglas,  March  22,  1858 ;  Cornwallis,  New  Eldorado,  p.  255. 

"  Mineral  Resources,  1867,  p.  50. 

[162] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  27 

'Couraged  in  working  for  less  than  "wages,"  but  greatly  re- 
sented being  forced  to  work  as  employes.  Consequently,  many 
were  eager  for  opportunities  in  a  new  country  which,  might 
bring  back  the  freedom,  enthusiasm,  and  easy  gains  of  the 
.earlier  time.12 

A  vehement  belief  spread  through  the  mining  counties  that 
Fraser 's  River  would  repeat  these  earlier  experiences.  Miners, 
to  be  sure,  were  somewhat  skeptical  of  new  fields,  because  they 
had  been  badly  mistaken  in  several  disastrous  excitements. 
But  trusty  delegates  in  this  case  reported  back  to  some  of  the 
<jamps  the  richness  of  the  new  fields,  and  secret  notes  from 
former  comrades  often  authenticated  the  reports  of  the  news- 
papers. Moveover,  there  was  a  theory  that  farther  north  gold 
fields  became  richer  (as  had  been  the  case  in  California),  and 
that  fine  gold  discovered  in  the  lower  parts  of  a  river  betokened 
great  deposits  farther  up.  The  reports  of  the  "flour  gold"  of 
•the  bars  of  the  Fraser,  therefore,  brought  conviction  and  en- 
thusiasm. 

Accordingly  miners  from  the  interior  thronged  all  roads  to 
'Stockton  and  Sacramento,  and  at  these  places  crowded  into 
steamers  for  San  Francisco.  Some  of  the  mining  counties  lost 
a  third  of  their  population;  business  was  badly  deranged  and 
general  bankruptcy  was  anticipated;  claims  that  in  March 
would  have  brought  one  thousand  dollars  would  not  bring  one 
hundred  dollars  in  June.13  Not  only  the  miners  who  poured 
into  San  Francisco  were  intent  on  Fraser  River,  but  many  of 
the  inhabitants  of  that  city  accompanied  them  northward. 
Common  laborers,  bricklayers,  carpenters,  printers,  cabinet 
makers,  merchants,  gamblers,  and  speculators  in  real  estate,  as 
well  as  miners,  crowded  to  three  times  their  capacity  vessels 
whose  seaworthiness  was  often  doubtful.14  Fares  to  Victoria 
were  for  the  "nobs"  $60,  for  the  ."roughs,"  $30.  Steamboat 
owners  of  course  made  money  rapidly.  A  careful  estimate 
placed  the  number  who  went  from  California;  to  Victoria  dur- 


"  This  paragraph  is  based  upon  an  article  by  J.  S.  Hittell  in  Overland  Monthly, 
May,  1869,  Vol.  II,  pp.  413-417;  Downie,  Maj.  Wm.,  Hunting  for  Gold;  Da 
Groot,  Br.  Col;  Its  Condition  and  Prospects. 

13  Hittell,  Cariboo,  Overland  Monthly,  May,  1869. 

14  "Times"  correspondence,  Hazlitt,  Br.  Col.  and  Van.  Id.,  p.  147. 

[163] 


28  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

ing  the  spring  and  early  summer  at  twenty-three  thousand, 
while  probably  eight  thousand  more  proceeded  overland.15 

As  ship  after  ship  discharged  its  crowds  at  Victoria  or  at 
Esquimault  (  a  fine  harbor  three  miles  from  Victoria),  a  lively 
town  sprang  into  existence  around  the  staid  Hudson's  Bay  quar- 
ters. Hundreds  of  tents  occupied  the  picturesque  slope,  while 
more  permanent  dwellings  and  stores  were  swiftly  put  up. 
Speculation  in  lots  was  rife.  A  newspaper,  the  Gazette,  was 
soon  established.  Crowds  of  miners  continually  coming  and 
going,  auctioneers  shouting  their  wares,  the  calls  of  dray  men, — 
all  the  bustle  and  stir  of  business, — recalled  to  many  minds  early- 
days  in  San  Francisco. 

These  miners  at  Victoria,  however,  were  stil]  far  from  the 
mining  region.  To  get  to  it  the  Gulf  of*  Georgia  first  had  to  be 
crossed,  and  then  the  Fraser  ascended  for  a  hundred  miles  and 
more.  In  the  absence  at  first  of  adequate  transportation,  hun- 
dreds of  the  adventurous  enthusiasts  entrusted  themselves  to 
hastily  made  boats  and  canoes,  in  which  they  ventured  to  en- 
counter the  dangerous  tides  and  currents  of  gulf  and  river. 
Later,  steamboats  ascended  to  Hope  and  Yale. 

The  first  miners  on  the  Fraser  found  rich  and  easy  diggings. 
The  gold  occurred  in  the  ''bars"  of  the  river.16  The  lowest  bar 
worked  was  Fargo  bar,  which  was  about  fifteen  miles  above  Ft. 
Langley.17  From  there  clear  up  above  the  canons  above  Yale 
a  succession  of  rich  bars  was  uncovered,  the  richest  district  being 
in  the  vicinity  of  Ft.  Yale.  In  this  district  on  Hill's  Bar  the 
discoverer  made  six  hundred  dollars  in  sixteen  days,  and  two 
other  men  took  out  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  a  day  and 
a  half.  From  many  points  came  reports  of  rich  returns,  and  old 
Californians  declared  they  had  never  seen  such  diggings.18  All 
along  the  Fraser  were  evidences  of  activity  and  industry,  and 
the  future  seemed  full  of  hope. 

Meantime,  steps  had  been  taken  to  ensure  law  and  order.  In 
December,  1857,  Douglas  had  issued  a  proclamation  which  assert- 


"  Nugent' s  Report,  Ex.  Doc.  35th  Cong.  2nd  Sess.,  Vol.  XII,  No.  3,  p.  26. 
M  "Every  mine  over  which  a  river  extends  when  in  its  most  flooded  state.' 
Gold  Mine  Regulations,  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  p.  532. 

17  Mayne,  Br.  Col.  and  Van.  Id.,  p.  93. 

18  "Times"  correspondence.     Hazlitt,  Br.  Col.  and  Van.  Id.,  pp.  134-140. 

[164] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  29 

«d  that  ' '  all  mines  of  gold ......   whether  on  the  lands  of  the 

Queen  or  of  any  of  her  Majesty's  subjects,  belong  to  the -Crown", 
and  required  that  a  miner  should  take  out  a  license  before  dig- 
ging for  gold.19  Douglas  at  first  questioned  whether  it  was  a 
wise  policy  to  admit  without  requiring  an  oath  of  allegiance, 
large  numbers  of  * '  foreign  population,  whose  sympathies  may  be 
decidedly  anti  British,"  and  he  issued  a  proclamation  in  May, 
1858  which,  to  say  the  least,  attempted  sufficiently  to  safe-guard 
the  interests  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.20  This  proclamation 
warned  all  persons  from  engaging  in  trade  for  Fraser  River  and 
from  navigating  boats  thereon,  except  by  license  and  sufferance 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  sufferance,  which  cost  six 
to  twelve  dollars  per  trip,  was  issued  on  condition  that  the 
vessel  owner  using  it  should  transport  only  the  goods  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company;  that  he  should  import  no  powder  nor 
utensils  of  war,  except  from  the  United  Kingdom ;  that  he  would 
receive  no  passengers  except  such  as  had  licenses  to  mine;  and 
that  he  would  not  trade  with  the  Indians.21 

Douglas  acknowledged  that  his  authority  to  make  this  procla- 
mation was  questionable ;  but  strongly  claimed  that  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  right  of  exclusive  trade  with  the  Indians  implied 
exclusive  trade  of  all  sorts.22 

But  Her  Majesty's  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies  in- 
structed him  that  he  should  "oppose  no  obstacle  whatever"  to 
the  entrance  of  foreigners  and  repudiated  the  claim  of  exclusive 
trade  rights  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.23  The  rush  of  popu- 
lation to  British  Columbia,  however,  had  decided  the  Imperial 
Government  to  terminate  the  license  of  exclusive  trade  with  the 
Indians  by  which  the  mainland  was  held  by  the  Company ;  and, 
on  August  2,  1858,  the  act  was  passed  by  which  the  colony  of 
British  Columbia  was  established.  The  governor  of  the  new 


19  Cornwallis,  The  New  Eldorado,  p.  349. 

20  Despatch  of  Douglas,  May  8,  1858.     Id,  p.  356. 

21  Letter  of  Stevens  to  Sec'y  of  State,  July  21,  1858,  Id.  324-5. 

22  Despatch  of  May  8,  1858.     Id.  258-9  ;  Rights  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Id. 
pp.  296-400. 

28  Despatch  of  Sir  E.  Bulwer  Lytton,  July  1,  1858.  Id.  367.  These  restrictive 
measures  of  Douglas  were  called  to  the  attention  of  the  U.  S.  Federal  authorities, 
who  sent  to  Victoria  as  special  agent,  John  Nugent.  Nugent's  report  censures 
Douglas.  35th  Cong.,  2nd  Sess.,  Vol.  XII,  No.  3. 


[165] 


30  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

colony  was  to  have  temporarily  absolute  power,  subject  to  the 
Queen  in  Council.24  Douglas  was  invited  to  become  Governor 
on  strict  condition  that  he  sever  all  connection  with  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  and  he  accepted. 

With  powers  now  plainly  denned  and  old  relations  with  the 
Company  severed,  Douglas  turned  resolutely  to  the  formidable 
task  before  him.  A  gold  commissioner  and  assistant  gold 
commissioners  were  appointed ;  proclamations  were  issued  having 
force  of  law  ;£or  the  regulation  of  the  mines  and  the  survey  of 
lands;  order  was  decisively  kept;  the  great  undertaking  of 
providing  routes  of  transportation  into  the  interior  was  entered 
upon.  Vigilance  and  energy  were  shown  in  all  directions. 

The  establishment  of  government  may  have  been  made  some- 
what easier  by  a  swift  recession  of  the  tide  of  population  which 
had  burst  into  the  country.  The  miners,  indeed,  were  confronted 
by  a  most  disconcerting  phenomenon.  The  first  operations  had 
been  carried  on  in  the  spring  and  early  summer,  when  the  water 
was  low;  but  high  water  in  the  Fraser  comes  with  the  melting 
of  the  snows  in  the  mountains  by  the  summer  sun.  The  river 
has  an  enormous  rise  in  the  summer  months;  at  Ft.  Langley  it 
is  fourteen  feet,  and  higher  up  much  greater — at  Pavilion,  for 
example,  it  rose  in  1859  eighteen  feet  in  a  single  night.25  Such 
a  rise  of  course  submerged  most  of  the  bars  and  stopped  work. 
Some  of  the  miners  resolutely  determined  to  wait  for  lower  water ; 
others,  facing  every  danger  and  privation,  prospected  far  into 
the  interior ;  but  the  great  majority,  finding  expenses  heavy  and 
prospects  poor,  returned  to  California — there  to  classify  Fraser 
River  as  the  most  colossal  of  humbugs.26 

In  spite  of  all  these  disappointments,  however,  the  rush  to 
Fraser  River  accomplished  very  important  results.  The  rule  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  west  of  the  Rockies  was  ended; 
British  Columbia  with  its  outlook  on  the  Pacific,  had  come  into 
being;  prospectors  were  pushing  farther  and  farther  into  the 
interior  toward  Cariboo  and  Kootenay ;  an  inter-oceanic  railway 


a*  For  a  copy  of  the  Act,  see  Appendix  to  Cornwallls,  pp.  317-322.  Bill  in 
final  form,  British  State  Papers,  1858-59,  pp.  739-42. 

"Mayne,  Br.  Col.  and  Van.  Id.,  p.  86. 

MOne  gets  some  idea  of  the  bitterness  of  feeling  In  regard  to  Fraser  River 
from  Angelo's  Idaho. 

[166] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  31 

on  English  soil  was  begining  to  be  talked  of  and  with  it  the 
federation  of  British  North  America.27  England's  participation 
in  the  life  of  the  Pacific  Coast  was  assured.  "  However  we  may 
regard  the  advent  of  England  upon  our  shores '' '  wrote  a  thought- 
ful Calif ornian,  "or  whatever  estimate  we  may  set  on  the  value 
of  her  possessions  in  this  quarter,  one  thing  is  certain,  we  have 
now  got  to  meet  her  on  this  side  of  the  globe,  as  we  have  met  her 
on  the  other,  and  encountering  her  enterprise  and  capital;  her 
practical,  patient  industry  and  persistence  of  purpose,  dispute 
with  her  for  the  trade  of  the  East  and  the  empire  of  the  seas."28 


87  Cornwallis,  New  Eldorado,  Chapter  VIII ;  Speech  from  the  throne,  1858,  Ban- 
croft, Hist,  of  Pac.  States,  Vol.  XXVII,  p.  642. 

*De  Groot,  Br.  Col.;  Its  Condition  and  Prospects,  p.  4. 


[167] 


32  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


CHAPTER  III 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  A  DECISIVE  ADVANCE  OF  THE 

FRONTIER 

While  the  foundations  of  British  Columbia  were  being  laid 
in  this  rush  of  1858,  events  were  taking  place  south  of  the  line 
which  ended  General  Wool's  peace  policy,  pacified  the  interior, 
and  opened  it  to  settlement. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  Wool  had  excepted  miners  when  he  had 
declared  the  upper  country  closed  to  settlement,  and  in  spite  of 
the  hostility  of  the  Indians  and  the  apathy  of  the  soldiery, 
some  miners  continued  their  work,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of 
Colville.  These  felt  the  need  of  protection  from  the  Indians 
and  of  some  form  of  government  for  themselves.  Accord- 
ingly, a  meeting  was  held  at  Colville,  Nov.  23rd.,  1857,  in  the 
log  store  of  F.  Wolff.  A  petition  was  drawn  up  praying  for 
the  location  of  a  company  of  soldiers  in  the  valley,  and  a  rude 
governmental  organization  was  effected.1 

Influenced  by  this  petition,  by  reports  that  two  miners  had 
been  killed  by  the  Indians,  and  by  a  desire  to  punish  some 
Indian  depredations  on  the  stock  at  Ft.  Walla  Walla1,  Colonel 
Steptoe,  in  command  at  that  fort,  determined  on  a  reconnais- 
sance to  Colville.  The  expedition,  which  started  May  5,  1858, 
consisted  of  about  175  men — dragoons,  mounted  artillery  men, 
packers,  and  Indian  guides.  Although  they  took  along  two 
howitzers,  the  equipment  was  poor,  the  troopers  being  armed 
with  the  old  Yager  rifles  or  with  musketoons,  and  the  supply 
of  ammunition  being  insufficient.  The  route  was  by  the  old 
Nez  Perces  trail  to  Red  Wolf  Crossing,  just  below  the  present 
city  of  Lewiston,  Idaho,  and  thence  northward  towards  the 


1  A  full  account  of  this  meeting  appeared  in  the  Portland  Oregonian,  Jan.  30th, 

1858. 


[168] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  33 

Spokane.  The  northern  Indians,  particularly  the  Coeur  d' 
Alenes  and  the  Spokanes,  already  hostile  in  feeling  because 
of  friction  with  the  miners  and  because  of  rumors  of  the  con- 
struction of  a  new  military  road  (the  Mullan  Road)  through 
their  country,  desired  to  have  the  Snake  river  the  boundary  of 
the  Indian  country  and  wished  no  troops  to  come  north  of  it; 
they  were  incensed,  therefore,  to  a  degree  of  which  Steptoe  had 
no  conception,  and  the  more  because  he,  instead  of  marching 
directly  to  Colville  by  the  accustomed  trail,  chose  one  far  to 
the  east  which  ran  near  much- valued  camass  grounds.2 

The  expedition  had  proceeded  to  the  vicinity  of  Filleo  Lake, 
some  eighteen  miles  south  of  the  present  city  of  Spokane,  when 
the  way  was  blocked  by  Indians  (mainly  Coeur  d'  Alenes),  and 
the  whites  turned  aside  and  encamped  by  the  lake.  So  hos- 
tile was  the  attitude  of  the  Indians  that  Steptoe  determined  to 
retreat  next  morning.  Soon  after  the  retrograde  movement 
began  next  morning  (May  17),  firing  commenced  and  a  running 
fight  ensued  for  several  miles.  Steptoe  finally  made  a  stand 
on  a  hill  overlooking  the  Tohotonimine  (or  Pine)  Creek.3  Two 
commissioned  officers  and  six  men  had  been  killed  and  eleven 
wounded,  by  the  time  the  hill  was  reached.  By  nightfall  only 
two  rounds  of  ammunition  were  left  to  each  man.  The  situa- 
tion was  indeed  desperate,  for  Walla  Walla,  the  nearest  point 
of  succor,  was  ninety  miles  away,  and  the  Snake  river  inter- 
vened. A  flight  by  night  was  determined  upon.  The  dead 
were  buried,  the  howitzers  were  dismantled,  and  the  stores  aban- 
doned. The  command  rode  all  night  and  reached  Snake  River 
next  day.  There  they  were  helped  by  the.  Nez  Perces,  and 
finally  reached  Walla  Walla  in  safety.4 


2  Letter  of  Father  Joset  to  Father  Congiato,  Report  of  Sec'y.  of  War,  1858, 
p.  355. 

3  This  hill  adjoins  the  village  of  Rosalia,  Wash. 

4  Sources  for  the  Steptoe  expedition  :     Report  of  Secretary  of  War  for  1858  : 
MS.  of  Father  Joset  (In  Nichols'  Indian  Affairs). 

Accounts  from  survivors :  Michael  Kenney  in  Spokane  Spokesman-Review, 
May  12,  1901 ;  John  O'Neill,  Id.,  April  2,  1906 ;  Thomas  J.  Beall  in  Lewiston 
Teller,  March  14,  1884.  (See  also,  A  Pioneer  Soldier  of  the  Oregon  Frontier,  in 
Oregon  Hist.  Quarterly,  Sept.,  1907.) 

A  secondary  account  is  found  in  History  of  the  State  of  Washington,  by  Ed- 
mund S.  Meaney,  pp.  212-214. 

I  am  indebted  for  personal  recollections  of  this  affair  and  also  of  the  Wright 


[169] 


34  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

This  attack  on  regular  soldiers  made  it  evident  to  Gen. 
Clarke,  who  had  succeeded  Gen.  Wool  in  command  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Pacific,  that  the  Indians  must  no  longer  be 
dealt  with  in  temporizing  fashion.  He  at  once  began  concen- 
trating troops  from  all  parts  of  the  Pacific  coast  and  planned 
an  effective  campaign.  The  command  of  the  expedition  against 
the  Spokanes,  Coeur  d'  Alenes,  and  allied  tribes  was  given  to 
Colonel  George  Wright,  and  a  cooperating  force  was  ordered 
to  proceed  into  the  Yakima  country  under  command  of  Major 
E.  S.  Garnett. 

Colonel  Wright  (afterwards  General)  both  in  this  campaign 
of  1858  and  later  as  commander  of  the  Department  of  the 
Pacific  in  the  troublous  times  of  the  Civil  War,  proved  himself 
an  officer  of  more  than  ordinary  wisdom  and  usefulness.  His 
appearance  was  not  particularly  martial,  though  dignified;  for 
he  was  rather  short  in  stature  and  corpulent  in  figure.  His 
military  operations  were  very  carefully  conducted,  and  he  ex- 
acted from  his  soldiers  strict  discipline.  In  his  dealings  both 
with  the  soldiers  and  the  natives  he  was  stern,  but  very  just. 
Unostentatious  and  not  given  to  worry,  he  pursued  his  duty 
quietly  and  patiently,  but  at  the  same  time  with  energy  and 
promptitude.5 

While  Wright  was  collecting  and  drilling  his  forces  at  Walla 
Walla,  several  expeditions  bound  for  Fraser  River  ventured 
into  the  hostile  territory.  The  first  of  these  companies  to  start 
was  that  headed  by  David  Me  Laughlin,  which  set  forth  from 
Walla  Walla  early  in  July.  A  German  who  strayed  from  camp- 
was  promptly  murdered  by  the  Indians,  and  near  the  boundary 
line  along  the  Okanogau  River  a  fierce  fight  took  place,  in 
which  three  Californians  were  killed.  As  the  company  num- 
bered one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  however,  it  was  able  to  push 


expedition  to  Major  Trimble,  Mr.  Beall,  and  to  Mr.  William  Kohlauf.  Mr.  Beall 
went  over  the  ground  of  the  fight  with  me. 

[Since  the  above  was  written  there  has  appeared  a  careful  work  by  B.  F. 
Manring,  entitled  The  Conquest  of  the  Cover  d'  Alenes,  Spokanes,  and  Palouses. 
It  contains  much  valuable  source  material  both  for  the  Steptoe  and  the  Wright 
expeditions.] 

'This  characterization  of  Wright  is  based  on  conversations  with  Major  J.  G. 
Trimble  and  on  an  editorial  in  The  San  Francisco  Dally  Bulletin  of  June  30th, 
1864. 

[170] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  35 

through.  Other  companies  proceeded  under  Pearson,  Steven's 
eld  express  rider,  and  Joel  Palmer,  formerly  superintendent  of 
Indian  affairs.  Misfortunes  beset  the  former,  but  the  latter 
went  through  very  successfully.6  The  largest  company  prob- 
ably was  that  headed  by  " Major"  Mortimer  Robertson,  which 
left  the  Dalles  the  latter  part  of  July.7  Most  of  the  members 
were  from  California,  but  there  were  a  number  from  Oregon 
and  the  "States".  Among  them  were  carpenters,  blacksmiths, 
etc.,  ready,  it  was  said,  to  build  a  city.  They  numbered  242 
and  were  given  a  regular  organization  into  six  companies.  This 
array  reached  the  Fraser  mines  without  trouble.8  These  ex- 
peditions broke  the  way  for  an  important  overland  commerce 
betweeen  Oregon  and  Washington,  and  British  Columbia.9 

Wright  was  ready  to  take  the  field  the  latter  part  of  August. 
His  force  consisted  of  five  hundred  and  seventy  regulars,  thirty 
friendly  Nez  Perces,  and  one  hundred  employes.  A  fort  was 
constructed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tucanon,  and  here  Snake 
River  was  crossed.  Thence  the  expedition  struck  northward, 
every  precaution  being  taken  to  guard  against  surprise.  The 
Indians  were  found  concentrated  at  Four  Lakes,  sixteen  miles 
southwest  of  the  present  city  of  Spokane.10  Here  had  come 
Yakimas,  Spokanes,  Coeur  d'  Alenes,  Pend,  d'  Oreilles,  and 
representatives  of  many  other  tribes.  Kamiakin,  himself,  was 
present.  As  the  troops  moved  to  the  attack  on  September  first, 
they  admired  the  dashing  horsemanship  and  picturesque  ap- 
pearance of  the  "wild  array"  of  the  Indians.11  The  infantry 
opened  the  battle.  The  men  were  now  armed  with  the  new 
minie  rifle,  which  carried  farther  than  the  Hudson  Bay  car- 
bines of  the  Indians  and  the  conditions  of  the  Rosalia;  fight, 
therefore,  were  reversed;  the  Indians  were  dismayed  to  find 
their  firing  apparently  of  no  effect  on  the  soldiers,  while  that  of 


'Bancroft,  Hist,  of  Pac.  States,  Vol.  XXVII,  pp.  367-369. 

7  Robertson  had  failed  to  get  through  in  an  earlier  attempt.  Puget  Sound 
Herald,  July  1C,  1S58. 

*  Weekly  Oregonian,  Aug.   7th,   1858. 

•The  most  important  element  in  this  traffic  was  cattle  and  it  is  at  this 
time  that  the  cattle  business  of  Oregon  and  of  interior  Washington  begin* 
to  assume  large  proportions.  (Conversation  with  Hon.  C.  B.  Bagley.) 

10  The  battle  took  place  near  the  present  village  of  Medical  Lake. 

11  See  Kip's  Army  Life  on  the  Pacific,  pp.  55-56.     Kip's  account  of  the   ex- 
pedition is  readable  and  reliable. 


[171] 


36  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

the  latter  was  deadly.  As  the  red  men  wavered,  the  day  was 
decided  by  the  dragoons,  who,  eager  to  avenge  their  former  de- 
feat, dashed  upon  the  enemy.  The  Indians  scattered  in  flight. 
Eighteen  or  twenty  of  them  were  killed  and  many  wounded, 
while  the  whites  lost  none. 

Five  days  later  Wright  marched  for  the  Spokane  River,  fight- 
ing nearly  all  the  way.  The  Indians  burned  the  grass  and 
fought  from  the  cover  of  the  smoke,  but  they  were  skillfully 
pressed  back.  Kamiakin,  in  the  course  of  this  skirmishing, 
was  almost  killed  by  being  hit  on  the  head  by  a  large  limb  of  a 
tree,  which  was  torn  off  by  a  howitzer  shell. 

The  spirit  of  the  Indians  was  beginning  to  break  under  these 
defeats,  and  they  were  further  cowed  by  an  incident  which  oc- 
curred on  Wright's  march  eastward  along  the  Spokane  River 
on  his  way  to  the  Coeur  d'  Alene  mission.  He  captured  eight 
hundred  horses,  which  the  Indians  hoped  to  regain  by  stam- 
peding, but  Wright  encamped  two  days  and  killed  the  whole 
band.  So,  by  the  time  the  mission  was  reached  and  a  council 
summoned,  the  Indians  gathered  in  subdued  mood.  They  agreed 
not  to  molest  the  whites  any  more  and  to  give  hostages  for  good 
behavior.  On  his  way  back,  while  encamped  on  Lahtoo  Creek, 
Wright  sent  a  detachment  to  the  Steptoe  battle  field  to  bring 
the  remains  of  those  who  had  fallen  there.  Other  proceedings 
at  this  camp  changed  the  name  of  the  creek  from  the  beautiful 
softness  of  "Lahtoo"  to  the  rough  symbolism  of  "Hangman". 
To  the  camp  one  evening  came  Owhi,  chief  of  the  Yakimas, 
brother-in-law  of  Kamiakin.  He  acknowledged  that  his  son 
Qualchien  was  near  by.  Now,  Qualchien  Wright  particularly 
wanted  to  get  hold  of,  for  it  was  he  that  had  slain  Bolon,  and 
he  had  been  conspicuous  the  last  summer  in  attacking  miners. 
Owhi  was  put  in  irons  and  word  sent  to  Qualchien  that  if  he 
did  not  come  to  camp  at  once,  his  father  would  be  hanged. 
Into  camp,  therefore,  he  came  boldly,  dressed  so  gorgeously 
as  to  make  the  soldiers  stare.  Wright's  account  makes  no 
mention  of  the  fierce  struggles  of  Qualchien,  when  seized,  nor  of 
how  he  died  cursing  Kamiakin :  the  stern  soldier  wrote :  ' '  Qual- 
chien came  to  me  at  9  o'clock  this  morning  and  at  9.1/4  a.  m. 
he  was  hung."  The  evening  of  the  same  day  six  Palouses  met 

[172] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  37 

the  same  fate.  In  the  course  of  the  expedition  the  total  number 
of  the  hanged  reached  sixteen.  Owhi,  however  did  not  meet 
that  death,  but  was  shot  while  attempting  to  escape  on  the  way 
back  to  Walla  Walla. 

The  stern  measures  of  Wright,  with  the  successful  coopera- 
tion of  Garnett  in  the  Yakima  country,  brought  permanent 
peace  to  the  Indian  country,  except  for  the  forays  of 
the  bandit  tribes  of  Southern  Idaho.  These  events  of  the  sum- 
mer of  1858,  indeed,  were  very  important  in  the  history  of  the 
settlement  of  the  Inland  Empire,  for  they  cleared  the  way  for 
the  advance  of  the  frontier.12  General  Clarke  at  first  had  been 
in  favor  of  Wool's  policy  of  keeping  settlers  out;  but  the  con- 
duct of  the  Indians,  in  attacking  the  troops,  the  emigration 
through  the  country  to  British  Columbia,  and  the  knowledge 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  stay  the  advance  of  the  miners 
and  of  accompanying  agricultural  settlers,  determined  him  to 
reverse  Wool's  policy  and  to  recommend  the  confirmation  of, 
Steven's  treaties.13  General  Harney,  who  succeeded  Clarke  in 
October  of  1858,  issued  an  order  reopening  the  Walla  Walla 
vallejr  to  settlement,  and  in  March  of  the  next  year  the  treaties 
of  Stevens  were  ratified.  The  carrying  out  of  the  terms  of  these 
treaties  in  the  founding  of  agencies,  the  payment  of  annuities,, 
etc.,  of  course  helped  to  reconcile  the  Indians;  while  at  the 
same  time  the  establishment  of  new  Ft.  Colville  in  1859  and  the 
operations  of  the  Boundary  Commission,  with  its  large  escorts, 
completed  a  military  cordon  around  them.14 


12  This   Indian   uprising   seems   intrinsically   more   important   than   the   better 
known  outbreak  of  Chief  Joseph.     The  former  was  an  effort  to  stay  the  white 
advance  of  like  nature  with  the  efforts  of  Pontiac,  Tecumseh  and  Black  Hawk ; 
while  the  episode  of  Joseph  was  a  desperate  and  unreasonable,  though  brilliant,, 
outbreak  against  going  on    to  the   prescribed  reservation,   and  is  akin   to  suck 
episodes  as  that  of  Geronimo. 

13  35th  Cong.,  2nd  Sess.  App.,  p.  206. 

14  Kamiakin  escaped  over  the  Bitter   Root  Mountains  and  lingered  among  th« 
Pend  d'Oreilles.     In   the  winter  of  1858-9  Father  De  Smet  was  sent  to  try  to 
induce   him   and   some   other   chiefs   to   come    in.     He   found   the   once   wealthy 
chieftain   and   his  family  in   pitiful   poverty   and   misery.     Kamiakin   "made   an 
open  avowal  of  all  he  had  done  in  his  wars  against  the  government,  particularly 
in  the  attack  on  Colonel  Steptoe  and  in  the  war  with  General  Wright"     *     *     * 
"But  he  repeatedly  declared  to  me  and  with  the  greatest  apparent  earnestness, 
that  he  was  no  murderer."     The  worn  Indian  came   with  the  priest  nearly  to 
Walla  Walla   and   then   vanished.     He   finally   settled   down   on  a   farm  on   the 
shore  of  Rock  Lake  in  Whitman   county,  Washington.     There  he  spent  hit  old 


[173] 


38  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

The  Boundary  Commission,  consisting  of  both  British  and 
American  representatives,  began  its  work  in  1857  and  completed 
it  in  1861.  Their  labors  resulted  in  a  clear  definition  of  the 
Line  of  49'  through  timber  and  over  mountains  from  tidewater 
to  the  summit  of  the  Rockies.  The  line  was  marked  by  frequent 
clearings,  twenty  feet  or  more  in  width  and  half  a  mile  or  more 
in  length,  the  aggregate  length  of  these  clearings  amounting  to 
almost  half  the  total  distance.15  The  plain  marking  of  the 
boundary  was  useful  to  the  government  of  British  Columbia  in 
the  enforcement  of  its  new  tariff  laws.  Just  at  the  time,  there- 
fore, when  settlement  was  beginning  in  a  region  of  essential 
physiographic  wholeness,  government  drew  sharp  its  artificial 
line. 

The  fixing  of  the  boundary  line  on  land  was  made  difficult 
£nly  by  obstacles  of  nature,  but  the  choice  of  the  proper  channel 
among  the  islands  which  lay  off  the  mainland,  produced  the 
San  Juan  crisis  of  1859.16  This  grave  incident  gets  its  sig- 
nificance largely  from  the  mining  advance,  in  connection  of 
course  with  the  geographical  situation.  The  island  had  a  very 
strategic  position,  since  it  commanded  the  route  from  Victoria 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Fraser.  The  settlers  who  precipitated  the 
difficulty  were  mainly  American  miners,  who,  on  their  way  back 
from  the  Fraser  diggings,  had  "squatted"  on  the  island.17 
To  the  British  Governor  the  possession  of  this  strategic  island 
by  the  Americans,  especially  since  they  already  formed  so  large 
a  proportion  of  the  populace  over  which  he  ruled,  seemed  in- 
tolerable ;  on  the  other  hand,  to  the  United  States  British  Colum- 
bia loomed  on  the  Pacific  as  a  rival,  and  possibly  dangerous, 
power. 

age.  H  died  in  the  later  seventies  and  was  buried  on  a  knoll  above  the  lake. 
Kamiac  Creek  flows  near  his  home,  while  a  few  miles  eastward  a  long  sinuous 
butte  is  still  called  Kamiac  Butte.  The  foregoing  account  is  based  on  De-Smet'» 
report  (Sen.  Doc.  36th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.  Vol.  II,  No.  2.  pp.  98-107.)  and  on 
conversations  with  pioneers  who  knew  Kamiakin. 

15  A  realistic  picture  of  the  sort  of  opening   cut  may  be  seen  in  the  frontis- 
piece of  Mayne's  Br.  Col.  and  Van.  Id.;  the  basic  account  of  the  work  of  the  com- 
mission is  that  by  Baker,  Bull.  U.  S.  Geol.  Sur.,  No.  174. 

16  Official   documents   for   the    San   Juan   affair   are   found   in    36th   Cong.,   1st 
Sess.,  Vol.  V.,  No.  10,  pp.  1-75  ;  also  Douglas.  Correspondence  Book,  MS.   p.  22, 
Aug.  1859.     The  best  secondary  accounts  are  Meaney,  Washington,  pp.  240-254 
and  Bancroft's,  History  of  tlie  Pacific  States,  Vol.  XXVII,  pp.  605-639. 

17  Gosnell,  Sir  James  Douglas,  p.  280  ;  Meaney,  History  of  Washington,  p.  244. 

[174] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  39 

In  the  light  of  this  occurrence  the  building  of  the  Mullan 
road  assumes  an  important  aspect.  The  years  1859  and  1860 
assuredly  were  marked  by  attacks  on  the  problems  of  transpor- 
tation both  north  and  south  of  the  Line.  The  establishment  of 
new  posts  in  the  latter  region,  the  necessities  of  the  new  reser- 
vations, and  the  need  of  supplies  for  the  Boundary  Commis- 
sion, as  well  as  the  incoming  of  miners  and  immigrants,  called 
for  better  means  of  communication.18  But  the  possibility  of 
war  with  Great  Britain  and  the  necessity  in  that  event  for  a 
more  expeditious  and  safer  route  for  transportation  of  men 
and  supplies  to  the  northwest  than  by  sea,  constituted  a  strong 
motive  in  the  War  Department  for  furthering  the  new  road.19 

The  plan  of  a  road  to  connect  the  headwaters  of  the  Columbia 
had  been  conceived  by  that  empire  builder,  Stevens,  who  wished 
to  open  a  northern  route  for  emigration  and  to  nourish  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  a  northern  Pacific  railway.  He  secured  an 
appropriation  from  Congress  of  $30,000  in  1855.  Meanwhile, 
Lieutenant  John  Mullan,  who  had  been  left  by  Stevens  in  the 
Bitter  Root  Valley  to  continue  explorations  in  that  region,  dis- 
covered the  easy  pass  over  the  Rockies  which  bears  his  name. 
Mullan,  an  indefatigable  and  enthusiastic  path  breaker,  had 
done  more  than  any  other  man  to  explore  thoroughly  the 
tangled  country  between  the  Missouri  and  the  Spokane,  and,  at 
the  instance  of  Stevens,  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  road.  Delayed  by  the  Indian  war  of  1858,  the 
road  was  pushed  through  in  1859  and  1860  and  completed  in 
1862.  Its  total  length  was  624  miles  and  the  cost  of  construc- 
tion $230,000.  It  was  well  constructed,  substantial  log  bridges 
being  built,  rocky  stretches  blasted,  and  many  miles  of  forest 
leveled.  Before  it  was  completed,  a  body  of  three  hundred  sol- 
diers was  brought  west  over  it,  and  soon  it  began  to  be  used  by 
the  miners.20 

The  road  itself,  however,  was  only  a  part  of  a  comprehensive 
plan  which  included  testing  and  developing  the  navigation  of 


18  In  the  Department  of  Oregon  there  were  2158  TJ.   S.   troops  in  1859,   Sen. 
Doc.  36th  Cong.   2nd   Sess.,  Vol.   II,   No.  2,  610-11. 

19  See  report  of  Sec'y.  Floyd,  36th  Cong.  2nd  Sess.  Vol.  II,  No.  1,  p.  687. 
"Mullan,  Report  on  Military  Road,  pp.  34-35.     Wash.  Gov't.  Printing  office, 

1863. 


[175] 


40  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  WISCONSIN 

the  Missouri  and  of  the  Columbia.  The  house  of  Chouteau  & 
Company  of  St.  Louis,  with  some  aid  from  the  government, 
sent  the  first  steamboat  to  Ft.  Benton  in  1859.21  The  same 
year  the  Colonel  Wright  was  launched  on  the  Columbia,  the 
first  steamboat  above  The  Dalles.  In  the  previous  fall  Ruckel 
and  Olmsted  constructed  a  wooden  tramway  around  the  Cas- 
cades at  a  cost  of  $114,000— one  of  the  first  steps  toward  the 
development  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company's  sys- 
tem.22 Both  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  river  lines  in  a  few 
years  had  an  immense  traffic  in  the  transportation  of  miners 
and  miners'  supplies. 

The  great  movement  of  the  miners  south  of  the  line,  how- 
ever, was  not  to  come  until  1861.  In  the  period  1858  to  1860 
all  that  was  here  worthy  of  note  in  mining  was  a  revival  of 
interest  in  the  Colville  mines  and  recurring  efforts  on  the 
Wenatchee.  The  towns  of  Puget  Sound  were  particularly  in- 
terested in  the  latter  region,  and  they  were  so  keenly  hopeful 
that  mines  would  be  found  in  American  territory  so  situated 
as  to  boom  them,  that  they  became  excited  at  any  news  favor- 
able to  their  hopes.  In  1858  " highly  important"  news  from 
the  Wenatchee  brought  forth  an  extra  of  the  Steilacoom  Her- 
ald, and  at  Seattle  rumors  of  the  same  sort  in  1860  led  to  dis- 
playing of  flags,  firing  of  guns,  and  general  rejoicing.  Town 
lots  for  sale  in  the  latter  the  day  before  at  $100  rose  to  "an 
almost  unwarrantable  price. ' ' 23  But  the  Wenatchee  mines 
proved  evanescent  and  the  Sound  country,  except  for  settlers 
who  eddied  in  from  the  Fraser  River  currents,  made  compara- 
tively slow  growth  during  the  mining  period. 

There  was,  however,  during  1859  and  1860  very  considerable 
activity  in  the  extension  of  the  mining  area  in  British  Colum- 
bia. Nevertheless,  these  years,  in  comparison  to  the  fevered 
efforts  and  ambitions  of  1858,  were  on  the  whole  dull,  and  are 
to  be  looked  upon  rather  as  a  time  of  preparation  for  the  fu- 
ture advance  of  the  frontier  than  as  a  period  of  decisive 


21  Account  of  this  trip  in  Contributions  to  Historical  So&iety  of  Montana,  Vol. 
VII,    pp.   253-6. 

22  Portland  Advertiser,  Sept.  18,  1858. 

23  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Sept.  26,  1860. 


[176] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  41 

achievement.  As  preparatory  to  further  advance,  however,  the 
extension  of  the  mining  area  in  British  Columbia  was  not  with- 
out significance  and  took  place  in  two  directions. 

The  first  of  these  movements  was  up  the  Fraser  to  the  region 
of  the  Quesnelle  River.  Some  of  the  miners  who  stayed  after 
the  recession  of  the  tide  in  1858,  continued  work  on  the  old 
bars  of  the  Fraser,  while  others  pushed  far  northward,  a  num- 
ber striking  eastward  up  the  Thompson,  but  the  main  portion 
sticking  to  the  Fraser.  There  were  good  diggings  near  Cayoosh 
or  Lilloet  and  on  Bridge  Run,  but  the  most  promising  territory 
was  that  of  the  remote  Quesnelle,  into  which  miners  pressed  in 
considerable  numbers  in  1859-60. 24  A  detailed  estimate  by  the 
British  Cdlonist  in  the  winter  of  1859-60  of  the  population 
along  the  Fraser,  on  the  Douglas-Lilloet  route,  and  above  Lil- 
loet placed  it  at  1175,  and  this  was  largely  increased  the  next 
summer,  especially  on  the  Quesnelle.25  The  distances  to  be 
travelled,  however,  were  great,  and  the  difficulties  of  transpor- 
tation immense.  No  miners  in  America  had  yet  faced  such 
formidable  obstacles  as  these  who  were  now  toiling  toward  the 
heart  of  British  Columbia,  Yields,  while  variable,  were  on 
the  whole  encouraging,  but  it  was  almost  impossible  to  get  sup- 
plies. In  the  spring  of  1860  flour  on  the  Quesnelle  cost  $125 
per  barrel  and  bacon  $1.50  per  pound.  Tools  were  not  to  be 
had.26  The  arrival  of  packers  from  Oregon,  however,  in  June 
(among  them  the  indefatigable  General  Joel  Palmer)  relieved 
the  situation  and  brought  a  reduction  of  25-50  per  cent.27 

The  other  important  scene  of  mining  activity  in  British  Co- 
lumbia at  this  period  lay  east  of  the  Cascade  mountains  near 
the  boundary,  along  the  Similkameen  River  and  Rock  Creek. 
These  diggings  were  first  discovered  by  soldiers  of  the  Boundary 
Commission  in  the  fall  of  1859,  and  high  hopes  were  enter- 
tained of  them.28  Early  in  the  following  spring  large  numbers 
of  men  came  from  The  Dalles,  Walla  Walla,  the  Sound,  the 


24  A  good   account  of  this    movement   is   to  found  in   Bancroft,   pp.   4.47-461. 
History   of  Pacific  States,   Vol.   XXVII. 

25  Quoted  in  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,,  Feb.  1st,  1860. 

26  Id.  May  30th,  1860. 

27  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  June  13,  1860. 

28  Bancroft,  Works,  Vol.  XXXI,  Wash.  Id.  and  Mont.,  p.  232. 


[177] 


42  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Willamette  Valley,  and  from  northern  California.  Heavy  ship- 
ments of  goods  were  made,  120  pack  animals  and  horses  leav- 
ing The  Dalles  in  one  day.29  Two  embryo  towns  sprang  up, 
with  the  usual  sprinkling  of  saloons,  "hotels,"  and  stores.  A 
few  men  did  very  well,  but  the  rich  diggings  did  not  prove  ex- 
tensive ;  the  larger  portion  of  the  minors  scattered  to  other  fields, 
and  this  district  proved  not  very  valuable. 

The  great  problem  of  the  Government  of  BritisTi  Columbia 
at  this  time,  it  can  readily  be  seen,  was  to  facilitate  transporta- 
tion to  the  remote  regions  to  which  the  miners  were  penetrating, 
and  this  both  for  the  sake  of  development  of  the  regions  them- 
selves (with  consequent  revenue),  and  in  order  that  Victoria 
might  compete  in  trade  with  the  Dalles  and  Portland.  Re- 
markably effective  aid  to  the  government  in  the  solution  of  this 
problem,  and  in  other  tasks  as  well,  was  furnished  by  a  detach- 
ment of  the  Royal  Engineers.30 

This  corps  was  sent  from  England  in  1858  by  order  of  Sir. 
E.  Bullwer  Lytton,  then  Her  Majesty's  principal  Secretary  of 
State  for  the  Colonies.  It  was  under  Lytton 's  guidance  and 
care  that  the  new  colony  came  into  being,  and  it  may  be  inter- 
esting to  note  that  the  library  which  the  Engineers  took  with 
them  was  selected  by  the  author  of  "The  Last  Days  of  Pom- 
peii." The  detachment  ''was  a  picked  body,  selected  out  of  a 
large  number  of  volunteers  for  this  service,  and  chosen  with 
the  view  of  having  included  in  their  ranks  every  trade,  pro- 
fession, and  calling  which  might  be  useful  in  the  circumstances 
of  a  colony  springing  so  suddenly  into  existence.  And  although 
it  is  called  a  detachment  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  there  were 
four  men  in  it  who  did  not  belong  to  the  Royal  Engineers  at 
all — namely,  two  of  the  Royal  Artillery  and  two  of  the  15th 
Hussars — included  for  the  purpose  of  forming  the  nucleus  of 
an  artillery  corps  should  the  exigencies  of  the  case  so  re- 


29  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Feb.  18,  1860. 

30  Mention    may    be    made    here    of   tlie    explorations    made    by    Capt.    Palliser 
under  the  auspices  of  the   Royal  Geographical  Society.     Palliser  in   1859  went 
from   Edmonton  by  way  of  Kootenai  Pass  to  Ft.   Colville.     The  object  was  to 
find  a  suitable  pass  for  a  railroad,  but  no  such  pass  was  then  found.     Beggs, 
Hist.  Br.   C.,  p.   448:   Bancroft,  His.  Pac.  States,  Vol.   XXVII,   p.    643;   Paper 
Relative  to  t?ic  Exploration  T)y  the  Expedition  under  Captain  Palliser   (1858), 
and  Further  Papers   (I860). 

[178] 


Til  BIBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  43 

quire."31     In  all  there  were  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  men, 
and  they  were  under  the  command  of  Colonel  R.  C.  Moody. 

The  first  duty  with  which  Colonel  Moody  was  charged  was 
the  selection  of  a  site  for  the  capital  of  British  Columbia.  * '  On 
sanitary,  on  commercial,  on  military,  and  on  political  grounds" 
he  chose  a  thickly  wooded  eminence  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Fraser  River.  The  town  which  began  to  grow  in  1859  on  this 
site  was  at  first  called  Queensborough,  but  later  was  named  New 
Westminster. 

On  two  occasions  the  Engineers  took  part  in  strictly  military 
movements.  The  first  occasion  occurred  in  connection  with  & 
jealous  dispute  between  two  magistrates  at  Yale  and  Hill's 
Bar.  Conspicuous  in  this  dispute  was  Ned  McGowan,  who,  as 
a  resident  of  California,  has  been  under  the  ban  of  the  Vig- 
ilantes. At  a  distance  the  affair  took  the  appearance  of  an  up- 
rising of  the  rougher  Americans,  and  Douglas  took  instant 
steps  for  thorough  suppression.  Twenty-five  of  the  Engineers 
and  a  force  of  marines,  accompanied  by  Chief  Justice  Begbie, 
went  to  Yale.  The  trouble  proved  at  close  range  a  complete 
fiasco,  serious  only  for  the  heavy  cost  to  the  colony  for  sending 
the  troops;  nevertheless  it  suggested  the  sort  of  treatment  that 
would  be  given  to  disturbers  of  the  Queen's  peace.32  Another 
occasion  arose  the  next  summer  at  the  time  of  the  San  Juan 
affair  when  fifteen  of  the  Engineers  were  ordered  to  the  scene 
of  trouble. 

The  great  work  of  the  corps,  however,  was  in  coping  with 
the  problem  of  transportation.  The  developments  on  the  tip- 
per Fraser  and  the  Quesnelle  emphasized  the  necessity  of  some 
way  for  improving  transportation  to  a  point  beyond  the  canons 
of  the  lower  Fraser.  A  route  had  been  discovered  in  1858 
which  proceeded  by  way  of  Harrison  River  and  Lake  and  a 
chain  of  small  lakes  to  Cayoosh  on  the  Fraser.  But  there  were 
considerable  stretches  of  portage  at  various  places  on  this  route, 


81  The  Work  of  the  Royal  Engineers  in  British  Columbia,  by  His  Honour, 
Frederic  W.  Howay,  p.  3.  This  is  an  excellent'  and  elegantly  executed  mono- 
graph, which  gives  an  interesting  and  reliable  account  of  the  work  of  the  en- 
gineers. I  am  indebted  to  Richard  Wolfenden,  I.  S.  O.,  V.  D.,  Printer  to  the 
King,  for  a  copy.  Colonel  Wolfenden  was,  himself,  a  member  of  this  detach- 
ment of  the  Engineers.' 

32  Id.  p.  485. 

[179] 


44  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  WISCONSIN 

which  required  the  making  of  trails  and  roads.  By  the  cooper- 
ation of  Gov.  Douglas  and  the  miners  a  trail  had  been  made 
in  1858.  The  Engineers  deepened  the  channel  of  Harrison 
River  and  constructed  a  substantial  road  between  Douglas  and 
Little  Lilloet  Lake, — a  "work  of  magnitude"  wrote  Douglas, 
"and  of  the  utmost  public  utility."33  A  trail  was  laid  out  by 
them,  also,  to  Similkameen,  afterwards  widened  out  into  a 
wagon  road.  Their  monumental  work,  however,  was  done  on 
the  great  trunk  road  from  Yale  to  Cariboo,  the  most  difficult 
portions  of  which  were  constructed  by  them.  These  sections 
were  fairly  carved  from  the  great  rock  walls  of  the  Fraser. 

Besides  their  services  in  road  building,  the  Engineers  laid  out 
all  the  important,  towns  and  made  surveys  of  the  public  lands. 
Their  work  is  thus  summarized  by  Judge  Howay: — "All  the 
important  explorations  in  the  colony  were  performed  by  them; 
the  whole  peninsula  between  Burrard  Inlet  and  Fraser  River 
was  surveyed  by  them;  all  the  surveys  of  towns  and  country 
lands  were  made  by  them ;  all  the  main  roads  were  laid  out  by 
them;  some  of  these,  including  portions  of  the  Cariboo  Road, 
the  Hope-Similkameen  Road,  the  Douglas-Lilloet  Road,  and 
the  North  Road  to  Burrard  Inlet  were  built  by  them;  practi- 
cally all  the  maps  of  the  colony  and  of  sections  of  it  were  made 
from  their  surveys,  prepared  in  their  drafting  office,  litho- 
graphed and  published  by  them  at  their  camp;  they  formed  in 
1862,  the  first  building  society  in  the  colony;  they  designed  the 
first  churches  (Holy  Trinity  Church  and  St.  Mary's  Church, 
New  Westminster)  and  the  first  school-house  in  the  colony;  they 
designed  the  first  coat  of  arms  and  the  first  postage  stamp  in 
the  colony;  they  established  the  first  observatory,  and  to  them 
we  owe  the  first  systematic  meteorological  observations  in  the 
colony,  covering  a  period  of  three  years;  they  formed  the  Lands 
and  Works  Department,  the  Government  Printing  Office,  and 
printed  the  first  British  Columbia  Gazette;  they  aided  in  the 
maintenance  of  law  and  order;  and  their  commanding  officer 
was  the  first  Chief  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works,  as  well 
as  the  first  Lieutenant  Governor."34  No  such  record  of  multi- 


33  Id.  p.  7. 

34  Id.  pp.  9  and  10. 


[180] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  45 

farious  activities  can  be  assigned  to  any  one  body  of  men  south 
of  the  line  in  preparation  for  or  participation  in  the  mining 
advance.35 


85  The  letters  of  Governor  Douglas,  it  must  be  said  in  deference  to  historical 
impartiality,  contain  some  adverse  criticisms  of  the  Engineers,  though  these 
may  be  due  in  part  to  what  we  in  the  United  States  would  call  differences  of 
sectional  leaders,  Colonel  Moody  representing  New  Westminster  and  Gov.  Douglas 
Victoria.  See  Correspondence  Book  of  Sir  James  Douglas,  MS.,  pp.  71-72. 


[181] 


46  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


CHAPTER  IV 


CARIBOO,  KOOTENAI,  AND  THE  UPPER  COLUMBIA 

I.  CARIBOO 

Notwithstanding  the  activity  of  the  Engineers  and  the  ex- 
tension of  the  mining  area  to  the  Similkameen  and  the  Ques- 
nelle,  the  years  1859  and  1860  in  the  British  Colony,  as  we 
have  before  remarked,  in  comparison  with  the  excitement  and 
activity  of  1858  were  years  of  dullness  and  discouragement. 
In  Victoria  business  was  poor,  and  the  merchants  regretted  the 
departure  of  the  California  miners.  The  yield  of  gold,  how- 
ever, was  considerable,  amounting  in  1859  to  over  a  million 
and  a  half  of  dollars.1  Yet  there  seemed  danger  of  further 
decrease  of  population  and  even  of  the  collapse  of  the  Colony. 
Governor  Douglas,  on  a  visit  to  the  upper  country,  in  September 
of  1860,  wrote  from  Cayoosh  that  "The  fate  of  the  Colony  hangs 
at  this  moment  upon  a  thread,  abundance  of  the  precious  metal 
is  the  only  thing  that  can  save  it  from  ruin."2 

The  abundance  of  the  precious  metal,  which  was  permanently 
to  establish  British  Columbia,  came  from  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable gold  fields  in  the  whole  history  of  mining — the  Car- 
iboo district.  This  district  lay  jn  the  triangular  area  to  the 
north  of  Quesnelle  Lake  and  River,  between  them  and  the 
farthest  bend  northward  of  the  Fraser.  A  good  description 
of  it  has  been  left  us  by  Lieutenant  Palmer  of  the  Royal  En- 
gineers :  ' '  Cariboo  is  closely  packed  with  mountains  of  con- 
siderable altitude,  singularly  tumbled  and  irregular  in  charac- 
ter, and  presenting  steep  and  thickly  wooded  slopes.  Here  and 
there  tremendous  masses,  whose  summits  are  from  6000  to 


1  Geological  Purvey  of  Canada,   1887-88,   Report,  p.    23R. 
'Douglas  to  Moody,  Correspondence  Book,  MS.  pp.  48-49. 


[182] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  47 

7000  feet  above  the  sea,  tower  above  the  general  level,  and  form 
centres  of  radiation  of  subordinate  ranges.  This  (mountain 
system  is  drained  by  innumerable  streams,  of  every  size  from 
large  brooks  to  tiny  rivulets  .  .  .  ,  which  run  in  every 
imaginable  direction  of  the  compass. 

"Of  the  Superior  mountain  passes — Mts.  Snowshoe,  Burdett, 
and  Agnes,  the  latter  is  generally  known  as  the  'Bald  Mountain 
of  William's  Creek.'  (On  these  there  was  but  a  scanty  growth 
of  trees,  and  the  tops  were  covered  with  grass.) 

''The  headwaters  of  the  streams  radiate  in  remarkable  man- 
ner from  these  bald  clusters.  From  Mt.  Agnes  a  circle  of  one 
and  one-half  miles  radius  includes  the  sources  of  Williams, 
Lightning,  Jack  of  Clubs,  and  Antler  Creeks."3  Three  of  these 
creeks — Williams,  Lightning,  and  Antler — were  the  more  im- 
portant in  the  mining  history  of  Cariboo.  Their  valleys,  in 
common  with  those  of  other  creeks  were  "generally  narrow, 
rocky,  thickly  wooded,  and  frequently  swampy." 

About  the  time  that  Gov.  Douglas  was  writing  his  rather 
doleful  letter  from  Cayoosh  in  the  fall  of  1860,  the  adventur- 
ous vanguard  of  the  miners,  having  pushed  up  the  north  branch 
of  the  Quesnelle  to  Cariboo  Lake  and  prospected  the  streams 
emptying  into  that  lake  from  the  north,  crossed  the  divide  into 
Antler  Creek.  Reports  of  marvellous  finds  made  by  these  men 
came  to  the  outer  world  during  the  winter.  The  next  summer 
(1861)  about  1500  men  penetrated  to  this  rich  region,  and 
these  are  estimated  to  have  produced  $2,000,000.*  In  this  year 
Lightning  and  Williams  Creeks  were  discovered  and  yielded 
fabulously.5  At  Victoria  in  the  fall  gaping  crowds  followed 
miners  to  the  banks  as  they  carried  fortunes  in  canvass  sacks — 
fortunes  which  promised  restoration  of  prosperity  to  the  city. 

The  years  1862  and  1863  saw  the  flood  tide  in  the  history 
of  Cariboo,  although  the  mines  there  continued  to  yield  largely 
for  some  years  later.  About  2500  men  were  at  work  in  Cariboo 


*  Palmer,  Lieut.  H.  Spencer,  William$  Lake  and  Cariboo,  Topographical  Re- 
port. Printed  at  Royal  Engineers  Press,  New  Westminster  1865,  pp.  10-12. 

4  Estimate  of  Dawson,  Geological  Survey  of  Canada,  Rpt.,  1887-88,  p.  20R. 

•An  excellent  general  account  of  Cariboo  is  that  of  Dawson,  mentioned  abore. 
For  details  of  discoveries,  Bancroft,  Hi*,  of  Pac.  States,  Vol.  XXVII,  pp.  472- 
519,  gives  much  valuable  information,  though  not  well  organized. 


[183] 


48  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

in  1862  and  4000  in  1863.  Most  of  these  were  laborers,  who 
received  at  the  ordinary  rate  $10  per  day,  but  who  paid  $35 
per  week  for  board  and  for  the  privilege  of  sleeping  on  the 
floor  of  a  cabin  wrapped  each  in  his  own  blanket.  The  rate  of 
wages  paid  is  proof  of  the  extraordinary  richness  of  the  field. 
On  Williams  Creek  there  were  at  work  in  1862  one  hundred 
and  sixty-nine  "  Companies "  owning  727  claims.  By  the 
tenth  of  June,  1863,  the  number  of  claims  was  3071.  Two 
mining  towns  had  arisen,  Van  Winkle  on  Lightning  Creek  and 
Richfield  on  Williams.  Attention  was  being  directed  to  quartz, 
and  50  claims  were  staked  off  on  Snowshoe  mountain  in  1862. 
Capital  was  accumulated  in  large  amounts  at  the  mines  and 
invested  there.6 

The  yields  were  remarkable  and  can  be  verified  better  than 
in  most  camps.  Of  course  the  tales  of  individuals  acquiring 
fortunes  in  a  few  months  are  many.  For  example  we  may  cite 
the  celebrated  " Cariboo"  Cameron,  who  went  to  the  mines  in 
the  spring  of  1862  fresh  from  Ontario  and  so  unused  to  miners' 
life  that  men  laughed  at  him  for  calling  a  claim  a  "lot."  He 
had  $500  when  he  left  Victoria  in  the  spring  of  1862;  during 
the  summer  he  made  $10,000  and  acquired  title  to  claims  so 
valuable  that  he  was  able  within  a  year  to  leave  the  colony  with 
$150,000.7  We  are  fortunate,  however,  in  the  case  of  the  Car- 
iboo mines,  in  having  some  official  statements  in  regard  to  yields 
which  are  of  very  exceptional  reliability  and  importance.  These 
are  found  in  reports  from  Mr.  Peter  O'Reilly,  Gold  Commis- 
sioner in  Cariboo  in  1862-63.8 


6  The  sources  of  this  account  are  summaries  found  in  the  London  Times, 
Aug.  S  and  26,  1863. 

T  Cameron  links  up  with  some  older  British  Columbia  history.  He  was 
neighbor  to  Simon  Fraser,  the  discoverer1  of  Fraser  River,  and  went  to  Cariboo 
at  about  the  same  time  as  John  Fraser,  a  son  of  Simon.  Cameron  returned 
to  his  old  neighborhood  in  Ontario  and  bought  a  large  farm  and  a  mill,  but 
fortune  had  turned,  and  he  lost  his  money.  He  returned  to  Cariboo,  thinking 
again  to  wrest  riches  from  the  old  gulches,  but  he  failed,  and  lived  on,  haunt- 
ing in  a  restless  and  impecunious  old  age  various  gold  fields  (as  did  Dietz, 
Stout.  Comstock.  and  so  many  once  fortunate  miners),  until  at  last  he  died  and 
was  buried  at  Barkerville.  These  details  I  have  from  Judge  Frederic  W. 
Howay  and  from  Mr.  Simon  Fraser,  a  grandson  of  the  explorer,  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Fargo,  N.  D. 

*  The  reports  from  the  Assistant  Gold  Commissioners  to  Gov.  Douglas  from 
the  various  fields  constitute  perhaps  the  most  reliable  and  satisfactory  sources 

[184] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE 


49 


Writing  from  Bichfield,  May  11,  1863,  Mr.  O'Reilly  mentions 
that  he  has  been  able  through  the  kindness  of  Messrs.  Grier 
and  Diller  to  get  a  "  short  statistical  return  of  their  respective 
Companies,"  but  that  the  latter  gentleman  did  not  want  his 
information  published  in  the  local  papers.  The  returns  are  as 
follows : 


"The  Hard  Curry  Claim. 
"Williams  Creek. 

"This  claim  was  originally  preempted  on  the  27th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1861,  by  three  shareholders,  viz:  J.  P.  Diller,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Jas.  Loring,  Boston,  and  Hard  Curry,  Georgia,  and  is 
still  held  by  them  in  three  full  shares  of  100  feet  each. 

"During  a  period  of  17  months  from  the  time  above  men- 
tioned no  satisfactory  results  were  obtained,  the  time  being 
chiefly  employed  in  prospecting  the  claim.  Two  shafts  were 
sunk  at  an  aggregate  cost  of  $7724.  On  the  18th  of  February 
1863  the  Company  began  to  wash  up,  and  from  that  time  to 
the  present  the  claim  has  steadily  paid  the  following  almost 
fabulous  amounts  to  the  fortunate  share  holders. " 


Ounces. 

Dollars. 

Three  days 

ending1  21st   Fefo 

295 

$4  720 

Week 

28th      "                            

236 

3,776 

Week 

7th   Mar 

1  327 

21  232 

Week 

14th     "                          

475 

7,600 

Week 

21st      " 

1,785 

28  560 

Week 

28rh      "                            

753 

12.048 

Week 

4th  April 

1,  62 

28  192 

Week 

'        nth     "                             

2,744 

43.904 

Four  weeks 

18th  2lHh  April 

and 

and  9th  May            

1,276 

20,416 

Total 

10,053 

$170.  448 

"The  total  amount  expended  by  the  Company  in  working  the 
claim  from  the  18th  of  February  is  $26,748,  which  with  a  pre- 
vious cost  of  $7724  brings  the  total  expenses  to  the  9th  of 
May  to  $34,472,  this  being  deducted  from  the  gross  amount 


for  the  history  of  the  early  period  of  British  Columbia  mining.     For  more  ex- 
tended comment  on  them  see  the  Bibliography. 


[185] 


50  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

taken  out  leaves  a  net  profit  of  $135,976  or  $45,325  to  each 
share/'    .     .     . 

"The  number  of  men  employed  was  21  and  the  depth  reached 
was  60  feet.  The  lead  is  from  12  to  15  feet  wide  and  the  strata 
of  gravel  in  which  gold  is  found  is  9  feet  in  depth." 

At  present  only  90  feet  out  of  the  claim  of  300  have  been 
worked. ' ' 

P.  O'Reilly,  Gold  Commissioner." 

"The  Grier  Claim 
"Williams  Creek 

"The  original  company  consisted  of  five  share  holders,  viz: 
Daniel  Grier,  a  native  of  Wales,  John  Fairburn,  Scotland, 
Michael  Gillam,  Ireland,  Capt.  O'Rorke,  Ireland,  and  John 
Wilson,  Canada  West,  who  recorded  in  May,  1861,  100  feet 
each. 

"From  May  to  August  they  prospected  at  a  cost  of  $3000 
which  included  the  purchase  of  sluices  and  all  other  material 
for  working  the  claim.  From  August  to  the  first  week  in  Octo- 
ber the  net  profits  amounted  to  $7000  to  the  share,  at  which 
time  the  claims  remained  unworked  till  the  24th  of  May  1862. 
From  the  24th  of  May  1862  to  the  24th  of  October  the  total 

amount  taken  out  of  the  claim  was $100,111. 

The  total  expense  during  that  period  amounted  to      28,366. 

Leaving  as  net  profit  a  sum  of 71,745. 

Or  to  each  full  interest  a  dividend  of  14,349. ' ' 

P.  O'Reilly,  Gold  Commissioner." 

On  Nov.  27,  1863,  Mr.  O'Reilly  summarized  the  results  of 
the  year  in  Cariboo  as  follows:  "The  number  of  men  actually 
employed  in  the  District  of  Cariboo  north  of  Quesnelle  River, 
may  be  set  down  as  4000. 

"The  gross  amount  of  gold  taken  from  the  same  district  es- 
timated from  weekly  returns  obtained  from  claim  owners  on 
the  spot,  and  also  from  personal  knowledge  may  with  safety 
be  computed  at  $3,904,000. 

"The  quantity  of  provisions  sent  to  the  upper  country,  as- 
certained from  the  collection  of  road  Tolls  is  over  2000  tons. 

[186] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  51 

' 'The  above  statistics  may  be  relied  upon  as  being  as  nearly 
accurate  as  it  is  possible  to  obtain  them." 

Some  idea  of  the  amount  of  business  carried  on  with  the  Car- 
iboo mines  may  be  derived  from  a  statement  of  Mr.  Cox,  who 
succeeded  Mr.  O'Reilly.  He  wrote,  from  Richfield  Feb.  6th, 
1864,  that  the  stock  of  goods  in  merchants'  hands  was, 

Flour   300,000  Ibs. 

Beans    |55,000    " 

Bacon 16,000  !" 

Sugar 35,000    " 

Tea  and  Coffee  30,000    " 

Fresh   beef 10,000    " 

When  we  recall  that  nearly  all  of  these  staples  (except  the 
last)  had  been  transported  from  Victoria  a  distance  about  a* 
great  as  from  New  York  to  Chicago  and  most  of  that  distance 
over  rough  roads  and  trails,  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the  tremendous 
energy  employed  in  opening  up  this  remote  region. 

The  importance  of  the  business  of  this  region  to  Victoria  is 
shown  from  the  fact  that  in  June  of  1863  it  was  estimated  that 
the  indebtedness  of  British  Columbia  to  Victoria  was  $2,000,000 
and  that  it  was  thought  that  75  per  cent,  of  the  debt  would  be 
paid  by  September.9  When  the  devout  Bishop  of  Columbia 
visited  the  upper  country  and  noted  the  capital  invested,  the 
ravines  bridged,  and  the  rocks  blasted,  he  wrote:  ''Mountains 
and  mighty  torrents  inspire  the  heart  with  reverence  for  the 
works  of  God;  but  not  less  instructive  of  the  Presence  of  our 
God  are  all  these  strivings  and  movements  of  men."18 

Williams'  Creek  in  these  years,  particularly  during  the  min- 
ing season,  was  a  place  of  concentrated  activity.  An  English- 
man has  left  us  a  description  of  the  place  as  it  impressed  him.11 


•London  Times,  Aug.   14,   1863. 

10  Journal,  18C2-3,   p.   25. 

11  Johnson,   R.  Byron,   Very  Far  West  Indeed,  pp.  113-116.     A  cursory  read- 
ing of  this  work  is  likely  to  make  one  regard  it  as  unreliable  because  the  style 
is  vivid  and  some  of  the  adventures  so  exaggerated  as  to  seem  untrue.     But  dis- 
crimination should  be  made  between  such  stories  and  the  description  of  places 
and  scenes.     The  latter  are  corroborated  by  maps  and  by  comparison  with  such 
authorities  as  Mr.  O'Reilly  and  the  Occasional  Papers  of  the  Columbia  Mission. 

[187] 


52  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

"Across  the  breadth  of  the  little  valley,"  he  writes,  "was  a 
strange  heterogeneous  gathering  of  small  flumes,  carrying  water 
to  the  different  diggings  and  supported  at  various  heights  from 
the  ground  by  props,  windlasses  at  the  mouths,  water-wheels, 
bands  of  tailings  (the  refuse  washed  through  the  sluices)  and 
miners'  log  huts. 

"On  the  sides  of  the  hills  the  primeval  forests  had  been 
cleared  for  a  short  distance  upwards,  to  provide  timber  for 
mining  purposes,  and  logs  for  the  huts.  These  abodes  were 
more  numerous  on  the  hill  sides  than  in  the  bottom  of  the  val- 
ley, as  being  more  safe  from  removal. 

"The  town  comprised  the  ordinary  series  of  rough  wooden 
shanties,  stores,  restaurants,  grog  shops  and  gambling  saloons; 
and  on  a  little  eminence,  the  official  residence,  tenanted  by  the 
Gold  Commissioner  and  his  assistants  and  one  policeman,  with 
the  British  flag  permanently  displayed  in  front  of  it,  looked 
over  the  whole. 

"In  and  out  of  this  nest  the  human  ants  poured  all  day  and 
night,  for  in  wet-sinking  the  labour  must  be  kept  up  without 
-ceasing  all  through  the  twenty-four  hours,  Sundays  included. 
It  was  a  curious  sight  to  look  down  the  Creek  at  night,  and  see 
each  shaft  with  its  little  fire,  and  its  lantern,  and  the  dim 
ghostly  figures  gliding  about  from  darkness  into  light,  like  the 
demons  at  a  Drury  Lane  pantomine,  while  an  occasional  hut 
was  illuminated  by  some  weary  laborer  returning  from  his 
nightly  toil." 

"The  word  here  seemed  to  be  work,  and  nothing  else;  only 
round  the  bar  rooms  and  the  gambling-tables  were  a  few  loaf- 
ers and  gamblers  to  be  seen.  Idling  was  too  expensive  luxury 
in  a  place  where  wages  were  from  two  to  three  pounds  per  day 
and  flour  sold  at  six  shillings  a  pound. 

"The  mingling  of  the  noises  was  as  curious  as  that  of  objects. 
From  the  hills  came  the  perpetual  cracking  and  thudding  of 
axes,  intermingling  with  the  crash  of  falling  trees,  and  the 
grating  undertone  of  the  saws,  as  they  fashioned  the  logs  into 


Such  is  the  verisimilitude  that  Mr.  Johnson  either  had  actually  visited  the 
places  described  or  had  studied  carefully  about  them.  [I  am  later  informed 
on  reliable  authority  that  Mr.  Johnson  did  visit  Cariboo.] 

[188] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  53 

planks  and  boards.  From  the  bottom  of  the  valley  rose  the 
splashing  and  creaking  of  water  wheels,  the  grating  of  shovels, 
the  din  of  the  blacksmith's  hammer  sharpening  pick  axes,  and 
the  shouts  passed  from  the  tops  of  the  numerous  shafts  to  the 
men  below,  as  the  emptied  bucket  was  returned  by  the  wind- 
lass." 

The  difficulties  with  which  the  miners  of  Cariboo  had  to  con- 
tend were  great.  The  climate,  though  not  unhealthful,  was 
disagreeable  and  at  times  caused  serious  loss  and  delay  in  min- 
ing operations.  The  winters  were  long  and  there  were  spells 
of  intense  cold,  while  the  summer  weather  was  variable,  alter- 
nating between  extremes  of  heat  and  cold.  Perhaps  the  most 
unfortunate  climatic  feature  was  the  incessant  rains  in  the 
spring,  which  swept  away  dams,  flumes,  and  water  wheels  and 
filled  up  shafts.  Another  difficulty  arose  from  the  geology  of 
the  country.  The  surface  diggings  served  merely  to  attract 
the  first  discoverers;  the  real  wealth  of  Cariboo  lay  in  its  deep 
diggings.  The  leads  followed  ancient  river  channels,  and  these 
were  covered  by  the  detritus  of  modern  streams  and  displaced 
by  glacial  action.  In  consequence  shafts  forty  to  seventy  feet 
deep  had  to  be  sunk  and  even  then,  after  the  expenditure  of 
much  money,  there  was  no  certainty  of  striking  the  lead.  The 
Hard  Curry  Company,  for  example,  sank  their  first  shaft  in 
the  channel  and  on  the  lead,  but  the  bed  rock  was  found  washed 
smooth;  after  drifting  from  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  without 
success  they  abandoned  it  and  sank  another:  it  was  later 
found  that  the  first  shaft  was  only  ten  feet  from  a  spot  where 
the  Company  afterwards  took  out  1224  ounces  in  a  single  day.12 
Moreover,  water  seeped  into  many  shafts  and  could  be  removed 
only  by  rigging  expensive  pumps  and  windlasses.  Laborers 
often  had  to  work  day  after  day  in  water  and  mud,  sometimes 
without  boots,  because  none  could  be  had  in  camp  to  fit  or  the 
price  was  prohibitive.  A  man  mourned  greatly  when  he  snagged 
a  pair  of  boots  that  cost  him  seventeen  dollars.  0  'Reilly  reports 
the  following  prices  on  Aug.  15th,  1862 : 


"Report  of  Peter   O'Reilly,   May   11,   1863. 

[189] 


54  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Flour    $1.50  per  Ib. 

Beans 1.50    "     " 

Beef    . .50-55c  "     " 

Tea    3.00    "     " 

Nails 3.00    "    " 

Picks  and  shovels  10.00  each 

Lumber    22c  per  foot 

It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  the  Cariboo  miners  faced  uncom- 
monly severe  obstacles  arising  from  climate,  geology,  and  scarc- 
ity of  supplies.  In  order  to  meet  these  varied  obstacles  and 
to  acquire  the  indispensable  capital  required,  " Companies" 
were  resorted  to,  and  these  became  even  more  a  marked  feature 
of  the  industry  of  Cariboo  than  in  other  placer  fields.  The  in- 
dividual, once  a  camp  was  established,  could  do  little  except 
to  labor  for  some  one  else  or  to  prospect  for  new  fields.  Some 
form  of  cd-operative'  or  organized  effort  is  essential  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  mining  industry,  even  in  its  simpler  stages. 

All  other  difficulties  were  small,  however,  compared  to  those 
of  transportation,  and  in  large  part  dependent  upon  them. 
Not  only  was  it  necessary  to  transport  supplies  great  distances 
into  the  interior,  but  to  get  them  over  the  terrible  country  that 
lay  between  Quesnellemouth  and  Cariboo.  "It  is  difficult  to 
find  language  to  express  in  adequate  terms/'  writes  Lieutenant 
Palmer,  "the  utter  vileness  of  the  trails  of  Cariboo,  dreaded 
alike  by  all  classes  of  travellers ;  slippery,  precipitous  ascents 
and  descents,  fallen  logs,  overhanging  branches,  roots,  rocks, 
swamps,  turbid  pools  and  miles  of  deep  mud."13  The  Bishop 
of  Columbia  had  to  wade  through  bog  to  his  knees  going  into 
Cariboo,  and  on  reaching  Williams  Creek  it  seemed  to  him  like 
camping  on  a  swamp.14  It  was  a  melancholy  sight  to  see  all 
along  the  trail  the  bodies  of  horses  that  had  died  from  toil  and 
poor  feed.  The  absence  of  grass  in  the  dense  forests  of  the 
valleys  was  one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  the  region,  although 
there  was  good  pasture  on  the  summits  of  the  hills.  Horses 


13  Report,    Williams   Lake   and    Cariboo,    p.    13.     See    also   Diary    of   Journey 
to  Williams  Creek,  Cariboo,  May  1863,  Macfie,  224-229. 
"Journal,  1862-63,  p.  37. 


[190] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  55 

already  worn  by  being  away  from  the  bunch  grass  of  the  Fraser 
terraces  during  a  two  or  three  days'  journey  came  weakened 
to  this  last  terrible  stretch.  Sometimes  a  drover  would  lose 
half  his  train  after  leaving  the  Quesnelle,  and  sometimes  it 
was  impossible  to  use  animals  at  all.  Then  men  plodded 
through  the  mud  and  scrambled  over  the  logs  with  packs  of 
fifty  pounds  or  more  on  their  backs. 

Great  efforts  were  made  to  better  communications  with  Car- 
iboo in  the  years  1862-3.  Trails  were  built  connecting  Wil- 
liams Creek  with  Van  Winkle  and  the  latter  with  Quesnelle- 
mouth.15  From  Lytton  to  Quesnellemouth  the  routes  followed 
were  comparatively  easy,  since  they  were  in  part  along  the  ter- 
races of  the  Fraser.  The  portage  roads  on  the  route  leading 
to  Lytton  from  the  lower  Fraser  via  Harrison  Lake  were  fin- 
ished in  1863,  and  the  great  trunk  wagon  road  to  Lytton  from 
Yale  was  constructed  through  the  canons  of  the  Fraser  about 
the  same  time.  In  places  on  this  road  the  rocks  were  so 
precipitous  that  men  worked  suspended  from  the  cliffs  over- 
head. A  suspension  bridge  was  thrown  across  the  Fraser, 
and  navigation  on  that  river  of  course  expanded.16  In  1863 
the  steamer  Enterprise  was  placed  upon  the  smooth)  stretch  of 
the  upper  Fraser  to  run  between  Soda  Creek  and  Quesnelle- 
mouth. Parties  of  returning  miners  who  were  willing  to  take 
chances  built  boats  at  Quesnellemouth  which  held  seventeen 
passengers,  hired  an  expert  steersman,  and  ran  the  canons  to 
Yale.17  On  the  lower  Fraser  there  were  ten  steamers  in  1863. 

One(  of  the  accompaniments  of  this  improvement  in  transpor- 
tation and  the  development  of  the  mining  industry  was  the 
growth  of  agriculture  along  the  roads.  Farms  were  being 
brought  into  cultivation  at  various  places  between  Lytton  and 
Quesnelle.  About  Beaver  Lake  over  a  thousand  acres  were  in 
crop  in  1863,  and  along  the  Bonaparte  River  about  2000  acres 
were  cultivated.  It  was  thought  that  in  a  few  years  British 


15  The  cost  of  these  trails  was  defrayed  from  the  revenues  of  Cariboo. 
O'Reilly  paid  out  $25,300  for  this  purpose  in  1863 ;  Letter  of  O'Reilly  Sept.  1st, 
1863. 

18  Resume  of  these  activities  in  Judge  Howay's  Royal  Engineers,  pp.  889. 

17  Wm.  Stout  made  seven  of  these  perilous  trips ;  Reminiscences  of  Wm. 
Stout,  MS. 


[191] 


56  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN         • 

Columbia  would  produce  sufficient  cereals  for  its  own  consump- 
tion.18 

Victoria  of  course  shared  in  the  prosperity  of  the  interior. 
Substantial  buildings  of  stone  and  brick  replaced  tents  and 
wooden  buidings.  Once  more  crowds  of  veteran  miners  were 
to  be  seen  on  the  streets;  but  with  them  mingled  unseasoned 
newcomers  from  England,  for  a  larger  portion  of  the  immigra- 
tion of  1862-3  was  from  the  mother  country  than  in  that  of 
1858.  Many  of  these  novices  were  in  straits  financially,  and 
young  men  of  good  family  might  be  seen  at  manual  labor. 
Business  improved  steadily.  Imports  rose  from  $2,020,000  in 
1861  to  $3,866,000  in  1863.19  The  combined  revenues  of  Van- 
couver Island  and  British  Columbia,  which  in  1859  were  $73,000 
and  in  1860  $375,000,  in  1863  were  $706,000.'°  A  conservative 
estimate  of  the  yields  of  gold  in  1859  places  it  at  $1,615,000, 
and  in  1863  at  $3,900,000.21 

The  discovery  and  development  of  the  mines  of  Cariboo,  we 
conclude,  therefore,  were  of  paramount  importance  in  the  early 
history  of  British  Columbia. 

II.      KOOTENAI. 

Just  as  Cariboo  reached  the  zenith  of  its  yield  in  the  fall 
of  1863,  came  rumors  of  a  new  field  in  the  far  southeastern 
corner  of  British  Columbia.  The  principal  diggings  were  upon 
Wild  Horse  Creek,  which  flows  into  the  Kootenai  River  about 
fifty  miles  north  of  the  Boundary. 

In  the  fall  of  1863  a  prospector  from  Colville,  named  James 
Manning,  was  at  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  post  on  the  To- 
bacco Plains,  when  a  half-breed  named  Finley  brought  in  about 
five  hundred  dollars  worth  of  beautiful  gold,  which  he  had  ob- 
tained from  the  creek  now  known  as  Finley 's  Creek.  Man- 
ning spent  the  winter  near  Vermilion  Pass  and  early  in  the 
spring  started  prospecting  various  creeks.  In  March  he  joined 
a  party  of  twenty  men  who  came  in  by  the  Bitter  Root  Valley 


18  London   Times,   Aug.   26th,    1863. 

"Harvey,   Statistical  Account  of  British  Columbia,  p.   19. 

w/d.  p.  10. 

21  Geological  Survey  of  Canada,  1887-88,  Report,  p.  23  R. 

[192] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  57 

route  from  East  Bannock,  Stinking  Water,  and  Warrens.22 
They  immediately  found  good  prospects  on  Wild  Horse  Creek 
and  took  up  claims.  By  June  there  were  upwards  of  five  hun- 
dred men  in  the  country,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  summer, 
when  the  Assistant  Gold  Commissioner,  John  C.  Haynes,  ar- 
rived, there  were  one  thousand  men  on  Wild  Horse  Creek  alone. 

Haynes  reported  in  August  (1864)  that  ordinary  claims  were 
paying  from  $20  to  $30  per  day  to  the  hand  and  mentioned 
ten  companies  whose  average  exceeded  that.  He  issued  twenty- 
two  traders'  licenses,  twelve  liquor  licenses  and  over  six  hun- 
dred miners'  certificates.  In  the  month  of  August  the  rev- 
enues amounted  to  over  eleven  thousand  dollars,  of  which  more 
than  one-half  was  derived  from  the  customs  duties.23  In  the 
fall  there  were  fifty  sluice  companies  at  work,  employing  from 
five  to  twenty-five  men  each  and  taking  out  from  $300  to  $1000 
per  day.  The  gold  was  of  the  best  grade,  worth  $18  per  ounce. 
A  town  had  sprung  up  called  Fisherville.  The  Colonial  Sec- 
retary, A.  N.  Birch,  on  his  return  from  a  visit  to  Kootenai  in 
October  took  with  him  seventy-five  pounds  of  government  gold 
and  rejoiced  to  be  the  first  to  carry  gold  from  the  base  of  the 
Rockies  to  New  Westminster.24 

It  is  significant  of  how  the  Kootenai  mines  were  regarded  in 
the  spring  of  1865  that  Commissioner  O'Reilly  was  sent  there 
instead  of  to  Cariboo,  which  had  now  begun  to  wane.  In  1865, 
the  banner  year  for  these  mines,  there  were  from  1500  to  2000 
men  in  the  district.  Fisherville,  the  principal  town,  contained 
120  houses  at  the  beginning  of  the  season,  but  as  the  village 
was  located  on  rich  ground,  two-thirds  of  it  was  washed  away 
during  the  summer — a  proceeding  which  caused  many  disputes 
between  mine  owners  and  house  holders.  Victoria  Ditch,  three 
miles  long,  carrying  2000  inches  of  water,  and  rendering  work- 
able 100  claims  was  completed  at  a  cost  of  $125,000.  One 


22Lewiston  Golden  Age,  June  4,  1864,  in  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  June 
16,  1864. 

"  This  account  follows  a  narrative  by  Mr.  Manning  found  among  the  re- 
ports of  the  Gold  Commissioners.  It  is  dated  Sooyoos  Lake,  July  16,  1864,  and 
apparently  is  from  Mr.  Haynes.  See  also  Report  of  John  C.  Haynes,  Aug.  30th, 
18G4. 

24  Report  of  the  Colonial  Secretary,  A.  N.  Birch,  to  Governor  Frederick  Sey- 
mour, Oct.  31,  1864,  Macfie,  255-262,  Van  Id.  and  Br.  Col. 


[193] 


58  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

shaft  was  sunk  90  feet.  It  was  very  difficult  to  estimate  the 
amount  produced  in  the  district,  because  the  miners  would  not 
tell  their  yields  on  account  of  the  new  export  duty  on  gold, 
but  it  was  the  general  opinion  of  miners  and  traders  that  about 
one  million  dollars  was  taken  out.  The  gross  revenue  for  the 
year  was  estimated  at  $75,000.  On  Elk  Creek  about  .200  men 
were  at  work.  But  the  population  of  the  whole  district  .was 
reduced  by  repeated  rushes  to  the  Upper  Columbia,  Coeur  d' 
Alene  and  the  Blackfoot  mines,  particularly  to  the  latter.25 

In  1866,  consequently,  Kootenai  had  clearly  begun  to  de- 
cline. Only  seven  hundred  men  were  at  work  on  Wild  Horse 
Creek,  half  of  whom  were  Chinese.  The  latter  had  paid  high 
prices  for  claims — from  $2000  to  $7000 — and  promptly  met  all 
engagements.  There  was  considerable  litigation,  however,  aris- 
ing from  the  white  men  trying  to  take  advantage  of  the  Chi- 
nese.26 

The  real  importance  of  the  Kootenai  mines  in  the  mining 
history  of  the  Inland  Empire  arose  from  their  location,  they 
being  remote  from  the  commercial  and  governmental  centres 
of  the  British  Colonies  and  easily  accessible  from  the  territories 
to  the  south.  Hope,  the  nearest  village  on  the  Fraser,  by  the 
round-about  trail  that  was  followed,  was  over  five  hundred 
miles  distant,  and  part  of  the  trail,  that  from  Ft.  Shephard 
to  Wild  Horse  Creek,  was  so  bad  that,  in  1864,  one  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  trains  was  fourteen  days  in  making  the 
trip  from  that  post  and  lost  six  horses  in  doing  so.  Lewiston, 
on  the  contrary,  was  only  342  miles  distant,  Walla  Walla  408, 
and  Umatilla  Landing  453. 27  Consequently,  in  spite  of  high 
tariff,  improvement  of  the  British  trail,  and  eagerness  of  the 
Government  to  draw  trade  to  Victoria,  physiographic  consider- 
ations prevailed,  and  nearly  all  the  trade  was  with  points  south 
of  the  boundary. 

A  marked  feature  of  the  life  in  Kootenai  was  the  submission 
of  the  miners  to  the  lawful  authorities.  Here  were  a  thousands 


» Reports   of   Peter  O'Reilly   from  Wild   Horse  Creek,   May-Sept.    1865 
resume  made  Jan.  11,  1866. 

26  Report  of  Mr.  Gaggin,  Aug.  18,  1866. 

27  Report  of  A.  N.  Birch,  Macfie,  Van  Id.  d  Br.  Col.  255-262. 


[194] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  59 

or  two  of  rough  miners,  all  collected  from  the  American  terri- 
tories at  the  time  when  Montana  was  going  through  vigilante 
throes;  government  was  represented  by  a  lone  magistrate  with 
two  or  three  constables  unsupported  by  any  possibility  of  aid 
from  the  Eraser;  and  the  district  was  close  to  the  boundary 
line,  a  condition  permitting  easy  escape  for  transgressors.  And 
yet  the  testimony  of  the  British  officials  is  unanimous  as  to  the 
orderliness  of  the  miners.  Even  before  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Haynes,  the  miners,  as  usual,  had  taken  steps  to  form  district 
laws,  but  on  the  coming  of  the  magistrate  they  gave  him  hearty 
support.  When  Mr.  Birch  arrived,  he  found  "the  mining  laws 
of  the  colony  in  full  force,  all  customs'  duties  paid,  no  pistols 
to  be  seen,  and  everything  as  quiet  and  orderly  as  it  could 
possibly  be  in  the  most  civilized  district  of  the  colony."-8  Mr. 
O'Reilly  arrested  three  Americans  for  bringing  in  and  circu- 
lating counterfeit  gold  dust,  but  he  wrote  in  review  of  the 
year:  "It  is  gratifying  to  be  able  to  state  that  not  an  instance 
of  serious  crime  occurred  during  the  past  season,  and  this  is 
perhaps  the  more  remarkable  if  we  take  into  consideration  the 
class  of  men  usually  attracted  to  new  gold  fields  and  the  close 
proximity  of  the  Southern  Boundary,  affording  at  all  times 
great  facilities  for  escape  from  justice."29 

III.    THE  UPPER  COLUMBIA 

The  reports  concerning  the  mining  districts  on  the  Upper 
Columbia,  which  circulated  in  the  fall  of  1865,  characterized 
these  districts  as  "poor  man's  diggings" — i.  e.,  diggings  where 
the  deposits  were  superficial  and  workable  by  individuals  with 
small  capital;  whereas  Cariboo  and  Kootenai  were  "deep  dig- 
gings," necessitating  companies  and  capital  for  digging  shafts, 
pumping,  draining,  and  drifting.80  Mr.  O'Reilly  was  assigned 
to  the  Upper  Columbia  districts  in  1866.  The  main  diggings 
were  on  French  and  McCullough's  Creeks,  branches  of  Gold 


28  Report  of  A.  N.  Birch  ;  id. 

29  Report,  June  29,  1865  ;  report,  Jan.  11,  1866.     The  only  tax  that  the  miners 
tried  to  escape  was  that  of  the  export  duty   on   gold,   not    one-fifth   of  which 
was  paid.     O'Reilly  thought  it  ought  to  be  repealed.     Total  returns  $6900.     Re- 
port of  Jan.  11,  1866. 

30  Report  of  Mr.  Moberly,   Government  Gazette,  Dec.  12,  1865. 


[195; 


60  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Creek,  which  empties  into  the  Columbia  from  the  east,  well  up 
within  the  Big  Bend.  On  arriving  at  Wilson's  Landing  in  May, 
Mr.  O'Reilly  learned  that  a  new  steamer,  the  "49,"  had  made 
its  first  trip  from  Ft.  Shephard  to  Dalles  Des  Mort  a  few  daya 
before.  The  "49"  proved  an  important  factor  in  the  trans- 
portation to  this  region.31  Proceeding  to  McCullough's  Creek, 
the  gold  commissioner  found  there  six  or  seven  companies,  who 
were  hindered  by  deep  snow.  On  French  Creek  more  men  were^ 
found;  some  sanguine,  others  dejectedly  starting  to  retrace 
their  steps  to  Cariboo,  Kootenai  or  Blackfoot.  In  all  about 
twelve  hundred  men  had  crossed  at  Wilson's  Landing,  and  this 
furnished  a  rough  index  to  the  numbers  of  the  miners.  Prices 
were  extremely  high.  On  trying  to  hire  a  constable,  O'ReilJy 
discovered  that  the  wages  allowed  by  the  Government  for  such 
work  were  23  cents  less  per  day  than  one  meal  would  cost, 
viz.,  three  dollars.  The  diggings  proved  difficult  to  work  on 
account  of  water  and  boulders,  and  it  was  apparent  these  were 
not  such  "poor  men's  diggings"  as  had  been  reported.  The 
miners  combined,  however,  in  a  "spirited  way"  and  four  or 
five  companies  worked  on  a  test  shaft,  using  night  shifts,  but 
they  were  driven  out  by  the  water  at  42  feet.  Fresh  pumps 
were  rigged,  however,  and  some  good  yields  were  reported.  On 
McCullough's  Creek,  by  this  time,  fifteen  companies  were  mak- 
ing from  eight  to  twenty  dollars  per  day  to  the  hand.  The 
whole  district  was  "perfectly  quiet  and  free  from  outrage  of 
any  sort.32  The  difficulties  encountered,  however,  proved  too 
great  in  proportion  to  the  yield,  and  the  district  rapidly  de- 
clined. 

This  movement  to  the  Upper  Columbia,  insignificant  com- 
pared to  those  to  Kootenai,  Cariboo,  and  the  Fraser,  may  be 
regarded  as  closing  the  initial  period  of  the  mining  industry 
in  British  Columbia.  During  this  period,  as  we  ought  per- 
haps also  to  mention,  small  numbers  of  prospectors  made  their 
way  to  the  far  north  into  the  Omineca  district  of  the  Skeena 
and  Peace  Rivers  and  to  the  Cassiar  district  of  the  Stickeen 


"Bancroft,  His.  of  Pac.  States,  Vol.  XXVII,  p.  534.     Bancroft  gives  a  satis- 
factory account  of  this  movement,  pp.  530-538. 
32  Reports  of  Mr.  O'Reilly,  May  11  to  June  30,  1866. 

[196] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE 


61 


River,  and  in  1871  there  was  considerable  migration  to  these 
parts.  However,  the  history  of  these  movements  does  not  lie 
within  the  range  of  the  present  study,  since  they  may 
be  regarded  more  properly  as  an  introductory  chapter  to 
the  history  of  mining  on  the  Yukon.33  The  movements  to 
Fraser  River,  Cariboo,  and  Kootenai,  on  the  other  hand,  were 
clearly  related  to  the  movements  south  of  the  Line  and  were  of 
typical  and  foundational  importance. 


83  Account  of  the  Omineca  &  Cassiar  movements  In  Bancroft,  Ilia,  of  Pac. 
States,  pp.  543-564.  See  also  Report  on  an  Exploration  in  the  Yukon  District, 
N.  W.  T.  and  adjacent  Northern  Portion  of  British  Columbia,  1887  ;  Geol.  Bur. 
of  Canada,  No.  629. 


[197] 


62  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  MINING  ADVANCE  INTO  IDAHO,  EASTERN  ORE- 
GON, AND  MONTANA 

Contemporaneously  with  the  mining  movements  into  British 
Columbia  from  1860-66,  similar  occupation  of  new  regions  was 
proceeding  in  the  territories  to  the  south.  The  most  important 
of  these  new  localities  were  the  Nez  Perces  and  Salmon  River 
districts  in  the  northern  part  of  what  is  now  Idaho  (then  Wash- 
ington Territory)  ;  John  Day  and  Powder  Rivers  in  eastern 
Oregon;  Boise  Basin  and  Owyhee  in  southern  Idaho;  and  Deer 
Lodge,  Bannack,  Alder  Gulch,  and  Last  Chance  Gulch  in  the 
present  Montana.  To  get  the  location  of  these  various  districts 
clearly  in  mind  not  only  will  help  in  our  historical  survey  of 
the  movements  by  which  these  districts  were  occupied,  but  will 
also  contribute  to  a  better  understanding  of  later  chapters,  in 
particular  of  the  one  on  transportation. 

The  traveller  who  journeyed  to  the  mines  of  the  interior 
from  the  coast  by  the  ordinary  route — that  by  way  of  the  Co- 
lumbia— found  the  Columbia  from  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette 
for  about  forty-three  miles  upward  a  broad  stream  with  ample 
depth  for  navigation.  Then  comes  a  gorge-like  narrowing 
through  which  the  river  rushes  with  great  velocity  for  four 
and  one-half  miles.  This  first  obstruction  constitutes  the  Cas- 
cades. For  about  forty-five  miles  above  the  Cascades  there  is 
another  stretch  of  unimpeded  navigation  terminated  by  The 
Dalles  and  Celilo  Falls.  Here,  "in  the  course  of  nine  miles 
the  river  passes  over  falls  and  rapids  and  through  contracted 
channels  that  completely  block  navigation.  The  fall  in  this 
distance  is  eighty-one  feet"1  From  this  point  up  the  Colum- 

1  For  this  quotation  and  much  of  the  data  of  this  paragraph  I  am  indebted 
to  an  excellent  article  by  Professor  Frederic  G.  Young  in  the  Annals  of  the 
American  Acadamy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  Jan.  1908,  pp.  189-202,  on 
Columbia  River  Improvement  and  the  Pacific  "Northwest.  Quotation  on  p.  198. 

[198] 


TRIMBLE — MINING  ADVANCE  63 

bia  110  miles  to  its  junction  with  the  Snake  and  thence  146 
miles  to  Lewiston  there  is  no  serious  obstruction  to  navigation, 
though  there  are  some  formidable  rapids.2 

At  Lewiston  the  canon  of  the  Snake  takes  an  abrupt  turn  to 
the  south,  which  general  direction  it  keeps  for  about  200  miles, 
before  proceeding  again  eastward.  For  about  125  miles  of  this 
southerly  stretch,  from  the  vicinity  of  Asotin,  "Washington, 
nearly  to  Weiser,  Idaho,  the  river  canon  is  from  2000  to  6000 
feet  deep  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Seven  Devils  Mountains 
assumes  the  grandest  and  most  forbidding  proportions.  Above 
Weiser  the  depth  of  the  canon  recedes  to  200-700  feet,  and 
the  flow  of  the  river  is  sufficiently  gentle  again  to  allow  nav- 
igation. The  rough  stretch  of  the  river  just  referred  to  and 
the  Cascades-Dalles  obstructions  may  be  regarded  as  great 
steps  in  gaining  the  plateau  regions.8 

The  mining  districts  of  Idaho  and  eastern  Oregon  (with  the 
exception  of  one  far  up  on  the  John  Day  River,  a  tributary 
of  the  Columbia)  were  situated  on  the  affluents  of  the  Snake 
which  enter  it  in  the  course  of  its  northerly  flow.  The  mines 
were  not  near  the  mouths  of  these  affluents  (which  as  they  near 
the  Snake  partake  of  its  canon  character),  but  at  considerable 
distances  up  the  streams.  Taking  first  the  rivers  on  the  east 
side,  we  find  farthest  north  the  Clearwater,  which  empties  into 
the  Snake  at  Lewiston.  Up  the  Clearwater  a  few  miles  beyond 
the  mouth  of  the  north  fork  enters  from  the  north  east  Oro- 
Fino  Creek.  On  this  creek  was  the  first  mining  district  in 
Idaho,  and  in  this  district  arose  Oro-Fino  and  Pierce  City, 
towns  about  25  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.  A  few  miles 
above  Pierce  City  was  Khodes  Creek,  famed  for  its  richness. 
About  sixty  miles  on  a  straight  line  southeast  of  Pierce  City 
on  the  ,upper  tributaries  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Clearwater 
was  the  Elk  City  district.  The  Oro-Fino  and  Elk  City  dis- 
tricts constituted  the  "Nez  Perces  Mines."4  The  next  great 

2  The  Snake  is  barely  navigable  also  for  about  sixty  miles  above  Lewiston. 

8  For  description  of  the  canon  of  the  Snake  from  Asotin  to  Weiser  see  Lind- 
gren,  Waldemar,  The  Gold  and  Silver  Veins  of  Silver  City,  De  Lamar  and  other 
mining  districts  in  Id,  56th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  H.  Doc.  20th  An.  Rpt.  U.  S.  Geol.  Sur. 
pt  3,  p.  78. 

*Maps  and  description  of  this  region  are  found  in  A  Geological  Reconnais- 
\9ance  across  the  Bitter  Root  Range  and  Clearwater  Mountains,  by  Waldema* 
Lindgren,  U.  S.  Geol.  Sur.  Professional  Paper  No.  27. 

[199] 


64  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

tributary  of  the  Snake  to  the  South  is  the  Salmon  River,  whose 
gorge,  4000  to  5000  feet  deep,  greatly  interrupts  communica- 
tion between  north  and  south  Idaho.     On  the  plateau  a  few 
miles  north  of  the  brink  of  the  gorge,  a  little  west  of  a  straight 
line  south  from  Pierce  City  and  about  110  miles  south  east  of 
Lewiston,  were  the  Salmon  River  placers,  in  which  Florence 
became  the  most  important  town.     Twenty-seven  miles  south- 
east of  Florence  across  the  Salmon  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  were  Warren's  Diggings.5     The  next  large  tributary  to 
the  south,  the  Payette,  was  not  the  scene  of  mining  operations, 
but  was  of  some  importance  because  of  agriculture.    Not  far 
above  the  Payette  comes  the  Boise,  the  most  famous  of  the  riv- 
ers flowing  into  the  Snake.     Care  should  be  taken  to  distin 
guish  Boise  City  and  Boise  Basin.     The  latter,  which  was  a 
celebrated   mining  locality,   is  on  the  headwaters  of  Moore's 
Creek  and  its  branches,  and  is  about  twenty-five  miles  north 
east  of  the  present  city  of  Boise.     Southwest  from  the  latter 
site  and  across  the  Snake  were  the  Owyhee  mines,  on  the  upper 
part  of  Jordan  Creek,  which  is  a  tributary  of  Owyhee  river 
The  Owyhee  bends  in  .a  broad  bow  from  southwestern  Idaho 
into  Oregon  and  empties  into  the  Snake  from  the  western  side 
North  of  the  mouth  of  the  Owyhee  on  the  western  side  of  th( 
Snake  in  Oregon  come  the  Malheur,  the  Burnt,  the  Powder 
and  the  Grande  Ronde  rivers.     Of  these  the  Powder  River  fur 
nished   the   only   mines   of   considerable   importance,   but   the 
Grande  Ronde  became  early  noted  for  its  fine  farms. 

From  the  consideration  of  the  mining  districts  of  the  Snake 
let  us  turn  to  the  most  important  of  the  early  mining  localities 
in  the  region  now  embraced  by  Montana. 

The  first  discoveries  were  made  on  Gold  Creek,  a  branch 
the  Hell  Gate  River,  which  is  a  tributary  of  the  Clark's  Fork 
of  the  Columbia.8  But  the  placers  here  were  not  only  of  little 
importance,  but  more  inaccessible  from  the  southward  than  tht 
great  basin  of  the  Jefferson  Fork  of  the  Missouri,  where  the 
most  startling  of  the  early  developments  occurred. 


6  For  description   and   maps   see   Lindgren,   Waldemar,    The   Gold   and   Silver 
Veins  of  Silver  City  and  other  Mining  Districts  in  Idaho,  20th  An.  Report  U. 
Geol.  Sur.,  pt.  3,  p.  233  ff ;  Also  Hailey,  His.  of  Idaho,  pp.  29-30. 

•  Gold  Creek  is  a  few  miles  west  of  Garrison,  Mont. 

[200] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  65 

The  Jefferson  basin,  about  150  miles  long  and  100  miles  wide, 
is  drained  by  three  branches  of  the  Jefferson,  viz.,  the  Big 
Hole,  the  Beaver  Head,  and  the  Stinking  Water  or  Passamari. 
On  Grasshopper  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Beaverhead,  were  situ- 
ated the  Bannack  mines.  Southward  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Stinking  Water  (into  which  it  drams;  is  the  celebrated  Alder 
Gulch.  The  mountains  southward  from  the  Jefferson  Basin 
are  remarkably  rounded  and  the  country  has  the  appearance  of 
rolling  agricultural  land.7  Hence  it  was  easy  for  miners  from 
Boise  Basin  to  pass  to  Jefferson  Basin,  and  the  immigration 
from  Pikers  Peak  and  the  East  also  found  comparatively  easy 
access.  Below  Three  Forks,  where  the  Jefferson,  Madison, 
and  Gallatin  unite  to  form  the  Missouri,  one  of  the  largest 
creeks  from  the  west  is  the  Prickly  Pear.  A  few  miles  from  its 
mouth  the  Prickly  Pear  is  joined  by  Last  Chance  Gulch,  in 
which  the  city  of  Helena  lies.  Just  above  Helena  the  gulch 
branches  into  Oro  Fino  and  Grizzly  Gulches.  From  the  heads 
of  these  gulches  a  low  divide  gives  access  to  Nelson's  Gulch,  a 
branch  of  Ten  Mile  Creek.  To  Last  Chance  and  the  gulches  in 
the  vicinity  carne  the  last  of  the  great  formative  rushes  of  the 
movement  which  we  are  studying. 

Having  now  surveyed  the  geography  of  this  movement  south 
of  49°,  we  shall  next  consider  the  facts  of  the  mining  ad- 
vance into  these  fields. 

The  discovery  which  initiated  this  movement  came  as  a  natural 
outcome  of  the  pacification  of  the  Indians  by  the  campaigns  of 
Garnett  and  Wright,  the  removal  of  the  restrictions  on  settle- 
ment within  the  Inland  Empire,  the  ratification  of  the  treaties 
of  1855,  and,  most  of  all,  the  restless  searchings  of  the  miners 
from  the  Colville  and  Similkameen  districts.  The  leading 
spirit  in  the  discovery  was  Capt.  E.  D.  Pierce,  a  prospector, 
who  was  somewhat  acquainted  with  the  Nez  Perces  country,  and 


1  "In  crossing  the  Rocky  Mountains  we  had  plenty  of  grass,  wood  and  water, 

and  the  most  beautiful  mountain   country  I  ever  saw, — it  is  more  like  rolling 

prairie  land  covered  with  grass,  with  scattered  patches  of  timber,  and  but  little 

J  bed  rock  in  sight."     Letter  concerning  a  trip  from  Boise  to  Deer  Lodge,  Owyhee 

]•  Avalanche  Jan.  6,  1866.     For  description  of  Jefferson  basin  see  also,  Report  on 

Mineral  Resources  of  the  U.  8.  1868,  505-509. 

[201] 


66  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  WISCONSIN 

who  had  mined  on  the  Similkameen  and  at  Yreka,  Cal.8  A 
party  of  about  a  dozen  men  under  the  leadership  of  Pierce  made 
a  prospecting  tour  into  the  Clearwater  country  in  the  summer 
of  1860  and  found  rich  prospects  on  Canal  Gulch,  a  tributary 
of  Oro-Fino  Creek.9  On  the  return  of  the  party  to  Walla 
Walla,  there  was  hesitancy  in  organizing  for  further  develop- 
ment, because  of  the  opposing  attitude  of  the  Nez  Perces  Indi- 
ans— although  the  eastern  limits  of  their  reservation  were  so 
vaguely  defined  by  the  treaty  of  1855  as  to  make  it  uncertain 
whether  the  rich  ground  was  within  the  reservation.  But  at 
length  Sergeant  I.  C.  Smith  outfitted  about  sixty  men  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Canal  Gulch  in  November.  These  men  spent  the  winter 
there  engaged  in  mining,  building  cabins,  and  making  sluices. 
Forty-one  claims  averaged  during  the  winter  27  cents  to  the 
pan,  and  in  March  Smith  made  his  way  out  on  snowshoes  with 
$800  for  his  share.  All  through  the  winter  letters  had  been 
sent  out  occasionally  by  the  miners  to  their  friends,  and  items 
from  these  were  published  in  the  papers  of  the  Coast  and  of 
California.10  A  swiftly  accelerating  stream  of  travel  conse- 
quently, started  in  the  spring  of  1861  for  the  Columbia  and 
the  new  mines.  Thus,  just  as  the  Civil  War  was  commencing 
in  the  East,  a  new  era  of  development  began  in  the  far  North- 
west. Early  in  March  four  or  five  hundred  men  started  from 
Walla  Walla  to  the  mines.  The  town  was  full  of  pack  animals 
and  not  a  pick,  shovel,  or  gold  pan  could  be  bought.11  By  June 
the  Portland  papers  were  protesting  against  so  many  farmers 
leaving  the  Willamette,  and  by  September  such  large  numbers 
of  men  had  left  the  mining  district  of  California  as  to  increase 
appreciably  the  price  of  labor.12  Traffic  on  the  Columbia  grew 


8  "The  Colville  gold  excitement  in   1858    [  ?]    was  one  thing   that  led  to  the 
discovery    of   gold    by   Pierce    on   the   Clearwater.     They    were    prospecting    the 
country  all  over  for  gold.     The  discovery  on  the  Clearwater  was  really  made 
by  a  party  of  Similkameen  miners.     Pierce  had  been  up  there.     I  believe  Pierc« 
was   an  old  fur  trapper.     He  had  been  among  the  Indians  a  number  of  years. 
He  went   up   there  from   Yreka,   Cal." — Ritz,   Philip,   Settlement  of  the   Great 
Northern  Interior,  (MS)  p.  20.     See  also  Bancroft,  Wash.  Id.,  and  Mont.  p.  234. 

9  Account  of  this  trip  in  Goulder.  Reminiscences  of  a  Pioneer,  pp.  201-2. 

10  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Aug.  20,  1860 ;  Jan.  22,  Feb.  12  &  28,  Mar.  1 
&  27,  Apr.  19,  1861 ;  Portland  Times  Nov.  24,  I860. 

11  San    Francisco   Daily   Bulletin,   Mar.    27,    1861. 
r-  Id.  July  18,  1861.     See  later,  Id.  Jan.  24,  1862  : 

[202] 


TRIMBLE — MINING  ADVANCE  67 

swiftly.  In  May  the  Colonel  Wright  ran  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Clearwater  (and  a  little  above),  and  two  new  steamers  were 
being  built.  In  June  Lewiston  sprang  into  existence  at  the 
junction  of  the  Snake  and  the  Clearwater,  and  from  it  long 
trains  of  pack  animals  departed  daily.13  G.  C.  Robbins,  an 
observer  of  more  than  ordinary  reliability,  estimated  in  August 
that  there  were  2500  practical  miners  at  work  on  Rhodes 
Creek,  Oro  Fino,  Canal  Gulch  and  French  Creek,  and  that  four 
or  five  thousand  men  were  making  a  living  some  other  way. 
Large  amounts  were  being  realized  by  various  companies,  par- 
ticularly by  Rhodes  &  Co.14  Pierce  City  and  Oro  Fino  became 
busy  mining  towns.  As  the  country  filled  up,  prospecting  par- 
ties set  forth  to  the  southward,  and  during  the  summer  rich  dig- 
gings were  discovered  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  Clearwater, 
where  Elk  City  was  started;  and  in  September  excitement  in- 
tensified at  the  news  of  extraordinary  prospects  on  Salmon 
River15.  In  view  of  these  wide  developments  the  Portland  pa- 
pers began  to  look  upon  the  mining  movements  in  a  different  way 
than  at  first  when  they  had  disapproved  of  the  departure  of  the 
Willamette  farmers.  *  *  The  facts  in  regard  to  the  mineral  riches 
there,"  said  the  Oregonian  " which  come  to  us  from  authentic 
sources,  are  absolutely  bewildering;"  and  it  predicted  that  there 
would  follow  "tremendous  stampedes  from  California, — a  flood 
of  overland  emigration,— a  vastly  increased  business  on  the  Co- 
lumbia river, — the  rapid  advance  of  Portland  in  business,  popu- 
lation and  wealth, — and  the  profitable  employment  of  the  farmers 
of  this  valley.  "16  A  better  summary  of  that  which  actually  came 
to  pass  could  scarcely  have  been  written. 

The  prospect  of  largely  increased  immigration  to  the  mines, 
however,  brought  added  responsibility  fo  the  Indian  Department, 
for  all  the  mines  discovered  up  to  1862  proved  to  be  within  the 
limits  of  the  Nez  Perces  Indian  reservation.17  The  treaty  of  1855 


u  Id.  July  3,  1861. 

14  Oregonian,  Aug.   31,   1861. 

15  A    good   general   account   of   these    movements    may    be   found   in    Bancroft, 
Washington,  Idaho  and  Montana,  pp.  234-245.     For  the  Oro  Fino  region,  in  par- 
ticular, one  should  not  fail  to  read  the  very  interesting  and  reliable  pages  of 
Goulder's  Reminiscences. 

16  Oregonian,  Oct.   26,   1861. 

17  Possibly  some  question  as  to  the   Salmon  River  mines. 


[203] 


68  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  WISCONSIN 

had  set  apart  an  immense  area  bounded  indefinitely  by  the  upper 
part  of  the  south  fork  of  the  Palouse  Kiver,  Alpowa  Creek,  the 
Salmon  River  Mountains,  and  the  spurs  of  the  Bitter  Roots.1' 
In  the  second  clause  of  this  treaty  there  was  a  stipulation  that 
no  white  men,  except  employes  of  the  Department,  should  reside 
on  the  reservation  without  permission  of  the  tribe  and  of  the 
superintendent  and  agent.  It  was  so  evident,  however,  in  the 
spring  of  1861  that  a  large  rush  of  the  miners  was  under  way, 
that  an  agreement  was  made  under  this  proviso,  April  10,  1861, 
between  the  Nez  Perces  and  the  authorities  of  the  Indian  Depart- 
ment, as  follows :  that  portion  of  the  reservation  ' '  lying  north  of 
the  Snake  and  Clearwater  rivers,  the  south  fork  of  the  Clearwater 
and  the  trail  from  said  south  fork  by  the  Weippe  root  ground, 
across  the  Bitter  Root  mountains,  is  hereby  opened  to  the  whites 
in  common  with  the  Indians  for  mining  purposes,  provided,  how- 
ever, that  the  root-grounds  and  agricultural  tracts  in  said  dis- 
tricts shall,  in  no  case  be  taken  or  occupied  by  the  whites;"  but 
no  white  person,  except  employes,  was  to  be  permitted  to  reside 
upon  or  occupy  any  part  of  the  reservation  south  of  this  line.1' 
Within  a  few  weeks  after  the  signing  of  the  agreement,  how- 
ever, the  arrival  of  steamboats  made  it  clear  that  a  town  was 
needed  south  of  the  Clearwater,  and  Lewiston  came  into  sudden 
and  busy  existence.  A  little  earlier  a  party  of  fifty-two  men 
left  Oro  Fino  and  penetrated  into  the  unknown  region  of  the 
South  Fork.20  Part  of  them  were  turned  back  by  the  incensed 
Indians,  but  the  remainder  discovered  the  Elk  City  district. 
The  temper  of  the  miners  wras  illustrated  at  Oro  Fino  on  the 
arrival  of  the  detachment  which  had  returned,  when  "A  large 
and  well  armed  party  was  at  once  organized  at  Oro  Fino  and 
will  at  all  hazards  prosecute  their  desired  objects."21  In  a  little 
while  the  whole  country  south  of  the  Clearwater  was  being  over- 
run by  miners,  although  little  real  injury  was  done  to  the  Indians, 
because  of  the  presence  of  Capt.  A.  J.  Smith,  with  a  detachment 


14  Text  of  treaty  in  Keppler,  C.  J.,  Indian  Affairs,  Laws  and  Treaties,  57 
Cong.  1st.  sess.  Sen.  Doc.  No.  452,  Vol.  2,  p.  528. 

"  Text  of  this  agreement  in  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1862, 
pp.  430-31. 

20  Bancroft,  Washington,  Idaho  and  Montana,  p.  240. 

21  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Aug.  7,  1861. 

[204] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  69 

of  U.  S.  dragoons.22  There  was,  however,  great  danger  of  hos- 
tilities breaking  out,  particularly  as  this  last  movement  was  into 
that  portion  of  the  country  where  a  semi-hostile  part  of  the 
Nez  Perces  had  their  homes.  There  were  at  this  time  three 
"parties"  among  the  Nez  Perces.  The  first  under  the  shrewd 
and  peace-loving  Lawyer,  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  Lapwai  and 
Lewiston.  These  had  been  most  under  missionary  influence, 
knew  something  of  the  power  of  the  whites,  and  were  not  averse 
to  trading  with  them,  but  dreaded  the  effects  of  the  sale  of 
liquor.  The  second  was  found  in  the  South  Fork  country  and 
among  the  Mountains  or  Buffalo  Indians,  of  whom  the  most  im- 
portant leaders  were  Joseph  and  Big  Thunder.  They  were  in 
general  friendly  to  the  whites,  but  dreaded  intimacy  with  them 
as  bringing  degradation.  The  third  party,  hostile  and  suspi- 
cious, was  composed  of  bands  along  the  Salmon  River,  who  were 
more  or  less  in  touch  with  the  wild  Snakes,  and  of  whom  Eagle 
of  the  Light,  a  pronounced  enemy  of  the  whites,  was  leader.  A 
treaty  which  was  made  June  9,  1863,  with  the  object  of  adjusting 
all  difficulties,  was  not  likely  permanently  to  placate  the  last 
two  factions,  and  its  terms  probably  helped  to  bring  on  the 
outbreak  under  the  younger  Joseph;  for  they  certainly  left  no 
room  for  Indian  occupation  of  the  Wallowa  valley.  Nine-tenth* 
of  the  territory  formerly  guaranteed  as  a  reservation  was  ceded, 
and  the  limits  were  so  drawn  as  to  exclude  Lewiston,  Oro  Fino, 
Elk  City,  and  Florence.  The  Indians  were  to  receive  as  com- 
pensation $262,500  in  addition  to  the  sums  promised  by  the 
treaty  of  1855.  Hotels  and  stage  stands  were  to  be  conducted 
only  under  license  from  the  Indian  agent,  and  the  tolls  from  all 
ferries  and  bridges  were  to  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  tribe.28  As 
no  new  mines  were  discovered  within  the  territory  delimited  in 
this  treaty  of  1863,  the  Indians  were  not  further  disturbed.24 


"The   situation  Is   set  forth    in   detail   by   Chas.   Hutching,   Indian   agent,   iir 
his  report  of  June   30,    1862.     Rpt.   of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs    1862 
pp.  422-27. 

"Keppler,  Indian  Affairs,  Laics  and  Treaties,  57  Cong.  1st  Sess.  Sen.  Doc 
No.  452,  Vol.  2,  p.  644ff.  See  also  Bancroft,  Wash.  Id.  and  Mont.  pp.  481-492. 

84  No  account  of  this  period  would  be  complete  without  mention  of  Wm, 
Craig  and  Robert  Newell.  Both  were  very  important  factors  in  the  relation* 
between  the  Government  and  the  Nez  Perces.  A  Biography  of  Craig  is  giver* 
in  Bancroft,  Wash.  Id.  and  Mont.,  p.  106. 

[205] 


70  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

The  pacification  of  the  Indians  by  this  treaty  was  made  all 
the  more  necessary  because  of  the  extraordinary  rush  to  the 
Salmon  Kiver  district,  the  discovery  of  which,  in  the  fall  of 
1861,  we  have  referred  to  above.25  Immediately  on  the  receipt 
of  the  news  of  this  discovery  at  Oro  Fino  and  Pierce  City  a 
stampede  took  place  of  all  the  floating  populace.  By  the  sixth 
of  October  140  claims  had  been  taken,  and  astounding  results 
were  reported.26  Two  men  took  out  $300  in  two  days  and  two 
others  $800;  the  dirt  ran  as  high  as  $40  to  the  pan;  men  were 
making  on  an  average  $100  per  day  and  were  writing  to  friends 
in  Oregon  and  California  to  hasten  to  this  new  Eldorado,  where 
a  man  could  have  a  better  chance  than  at  any  time  since  1849. 2T 
Not  only  the  richness  of  the  new  mines,  but  the  fact  that  they 
proved  the  wide  extent  of  the  gold  producing  country,  gave  to 
them  an  advertisement  which  drew  multitudes  from  the  Coast 
and  started  large  migration  from  Pike 's  Peak  and  the  East.  No- 
vember first,  1861,  it  was  estimated  that  1500-2000  miners  were 
in  the  district,  most  of  them  from  the  surrounding  camps  or 
Irom  the  Willamette.28 

Part  of  these,  fortunately,  withdrew  before  a  late  fall  was 
followed  by  a  winter  of  unexampled  severity.  The  snow  lasted 
from  the  23rd  of  December  until  late  in  March.  At  Walla  Walla 
for  four  weeks  the  thermometer  ranged  from  freezing  to  29° 
below,  and  at  the  Dalles  30°  below  was  reported.  It  was  thought 
that  about  five-sixths  of  the  cattle  in  the  Walla  Walla  Valley 
perished,  and  nearly  all  the  sheep.29  If  such  was  the  bitterness 
of  the  winter  in  the  milder  localities,  one  can  imagine  what  the 
miners  at  Salmon  River  endured  in  their  hastily  constructed 
cabins  and  dug-outs  at  an  altitude  of  6,000  feet,  the  snow  seven 
to  ten  feet  deep,  with  insufficient  provisions  and  all  supplies  cut 
off.  Scurvy  broke  out,  and  there  were  men  who  never  recovered 
from  the  experiences  of  that  winter.30  Hardships  fell  worst  on 


25  Supra, — An  interesting  sketch  of  the  career  of  Newell  is  furnished  by  Mr. 
T.  C.  Elliott  in  the  Oregon  His.  Quar.,  June,  1905. 

26  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  October  24,  1861. 
57  Id.  October  14,  1861. 

25  WasMngton    Statesman,   Jan.    25,    1862. 

29  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  March  20,  1862. 

*>See   Bancroft,  Vol.  XXXI,  p.   253. 

[206] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  71 

those  who  tried  to  travel,  and  from  the  Dalles  to  the  Bitter  Roots 
men  fell  victims  to  the  frost. 

But  in  spite  of  these  dangers  and  the  warnings  of  the  news- 
papers, eager  miners  early  in  the  spring  thronged  Portland  and 
The  Dalles,  and  five  hundred  of  them  started  up  the  river  at 
once  on  foot,  many  of  these  with  only  a  few  crackers,  some  cheese, 
and  a  blanket  or  two.  As  the  spring  advanced  the  numbers  of 
the  immigrants  increased,  and  in  May  3800  people  departed  from 
San  Francisco  for  the  northern  mines.  There  were  also  large 
numbers  from  Utah,  the  States,  and  the  Canadian  provinces, 
the  total  being  estimated  by  the  Bulletin  at  30,000.31  At  Flor- 
ence, on  June  1,  1862,  there  were  recorded  on  the  town  books 
1319  claims,  worked  by  about  4200  men.82 

A  general  view  of  this  famous  camp  may  be  obtained  from 
reports  of  two  observers :  ' '  When  on  top  of  the  mountain,  which 
is  distant  some  ten  miles  from  Florence,  you  look  eastward,  and 
there,  bounded  by  a  high  chain  of  snow-covered  mountains,  lies 
the  basin  known  as  Salmon  River  mines.  It  is  a  succession  of 
rolling  hills,  none  higher  than  200  or  300  feet,  hence  the  place 
is  called  a  flat,  having  that  appearance  from  the  distance.  This 
flat  or  basin  resembles  a  gigantic  inverted  saucer.  In  or  near 
the  center  lies  the  town  of  Florence. '  '33  Another,  observing  the 
camp  from  an  elevated  spot  at  a  distance,  thought  when  twilight 
came  that  he  could  see  a  thousand  camp  fires  burning:  ''The 
sight  was  beautiful  and  I  think  was  well  calculated  to  give  one 
an  idea  of  an  army  in  camp,  dispersed  over  six  or  eight  square 
miles  of  gravel. '  '34  In  all  the  creeks  of  this  basin,  placer  mining 
was  feverishly  prosecuted.  The  richest  gulch  was  Baboon,  and 
from  this  Weiser  took  out  $6,600  in  one  day.85  But  while  there 
were  many  astounding  finds  the  ground  proved  spotted  and  was 


31  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  June  13,  1862. 

32  Letter  of  E.   R.  Giddinga,  chief  clerk  of  surveyor  general's  office,  Banker's 
Magazine    XVII  :    879.     At    an    election    that    summer    1430    votes    were    polled 
and  this  was  not  more  than   %   of-  the  population ;   Oregonian   July   21,   1862. 
The  O.   S.   N.  Co.  carried  on  the  Columbia   in  1861,   10,500  passengers  and  in 
1862  24,500.     Statement  of  the  Secretary,  Mineral  Resources,  1868,   p.  579. 

33  The  Dalles   Mountaineer,  May  26,  1862. 

34  San    Francisco   Daily   Bulletin,   Aug.    6,    1862.     For   a   scientific   description 
of  this  basin,  see  Lindgren,  Waldemar,   Silver  City,  De  Lamer  and   other  min- 
ing districts  in  Idaho,  20th  An.   Rpt.   U.   S.  Geological   Survey,   pt.   3,   H.  Doc. 
pp.  232-235. 

35  Bancroft,   Works,  Vol.  XXXI,   p.   256. 

[207] 


72  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

soon  exhausted.  No  mining  camp  flared  up  more  suddenly  or 
more  intensely  than  Salmon  River,  nor  flickered  more  quickly. 

The  reverse  of  this  was  true  in  Warren's  Diggings,  twenty- 
seven  miles  to  the  southeast  across  Salmon  River,  which  were 
discovered  early  in  the  spring  of  1862.  Here  the  placers  gave 
good  yields  for  many  years.  Inasmuch  as  the  large  floating 
population  of  Florence,  which  contained  many  lazy  and  reck- 
less men,  did  not  cross  the  gorge  of  Salmon  River,  the  settlement 
at  Warren's,  consisting  mostly  of  old  Calif ornians,  was  distin- 
guished for  orderliness,  industry,  and  thrift.  Prices,  of  course 
at  first  were  very  high.  An  energetic  woman,  Mrs.  Schultz,  paid 
75c  per  dozen  for  the  first  hair  pins  in  the  camp,  but  she  more 
than  recompensed  herself  for  this  by  charging  $3.00  per  meal  for 
board.  Still  when  her  husband  wanted  a  newspaper,  he  had  to 
pay  $2.50  for  a  single  copy.  The  camp  grew  steadily  until  there 
were  1500  men  in  the  district  in  1865,  and  then  decreased  to  500 
in  1867. 38  Quartz  discoveries  brought  some  revival;  but  the 
quartz  proved  to  be  in  chimneys,  and  not  many  men  could  be  em- 
ployed. At  last,  in  1872,  the  Chinamen  were  admitted,  and  much 
of  the  yield  since  then  has  come  from  them.37 

Of  the  total  yield  of  these  various  mining  districts  of  northern 
Idaho  it  is  impossible  to  secure  exact  figures.  An  approximation 
is  made  by  Lindgren  up  to  1900  as  follows:  Elk  City,  five 
to  ten  million  dollars,  Florence,  fifteen  to  thirty  million, 
and  Warrens  certainly  in  excess  of  fifteen  million;  and  in  com- 
parison with  these  yields  the  production  of  the  Oro  Fino  mines, 
it  is  safe  to  say,  has  been  not  less  than  ten  millions.  A  conserva- 
tive estimate,  therefore,  would  place  the  total  production  of  all 
the  mines  from  their  discovery  to  1900  at  about  fifty  million 
dollars,  and  of  this  probably  thirty-five  millions  was  produced 
before  1870.38 


"Hofen,  Leo,  His.  of  Idaho  County,  MS.,  p.  4. 

87  Of  the  authorities  for  Warren's  Diggings,  Hofen,  History  of  Idaho  Co.  in 
best.  Of  the  Bancroft  MS.  there  are  also  Hutton's  Early  Events  in  Northern 
Idaho,  Farnham's  Statement  regarding  Warren's  and  Florence,  and  Mrs.  Schultz'B 
Anecdotes.  See  also  Bancroft  Works,  Vol.  XXXI,  p.  258  and  scattered  but  val- 
uable notices  in  Hailey's  Idaho  and  Goulder's  Reminiscences.  For  physiography 
consult  Lindgren,  Silver  City,  etc.  20th  Annual  Rpt.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  Pt.  3. 

*  Reconnaisance  acrost  the  Bitter  Roots,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  Professional 
Papers,  No.  27,  p.  84 ;  Silver  City,  etc.  pp.  233  &  238. 


[208] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  73 

For  the  mines  of  Eastern  Oregon  we  have  no  such  careful 
reports  as  those  of  Lindgren  for  Idaho.  The  eastern  Oregon 
mines,  indeed,  seem  scarcely  to  have  received  the  attention  that 
their  importance  in  building  up  that  part  of  the  state  warrants. 
While  there  were  discoveries  on  Malheur  and  Burnt  Rivers,  the 
most  important  centers  were  Canyon  City  on  Canyon  Creek  (a 
branch  of  John  Day's  River),  and  at  Auburn  on  Powder  River, 
about  ten  miles  southwest  of  the  present  Baker  City. 

The  placers  on  the  John  Day  were  discovered  in  November, 
1861,  by  a  party  of  thirty-two  men  from  The  Dalles.  Fourteen 
of  these  started  back  to  The  Dalles,  but  all  except  two  were  killed 
by  the  Indians.39  A  very  considerable  immigration  followed  the 
next  year,  particularly  from  Washoe,  and  settlers  soon  began  to 
take  up  farms  in  the  beautiful  and  fertile  valley  of  the  John 
Day.40  Miners  went  to  work  vigorously  making  dams  and  rig- 
ging pumps,  and  Portland  capitalists  became  interested.41  In 
1865  twenty-two  thousand  dollars  per  week  was  produced  during 
the  mining  season,  and  in  1866  Carmany  thought  that  the  John 
Day  mines  had  produced  $1,500,000.42 

The  Powder  River  mines,  also,  were  discovered  in  the  fall  of 
1861.  In  June,  1862,  Auburn  was  laid  out  and  for  a  few  months 
grew  rapidly.43  It  soon  had  forty  stores  and  saloons,  five  hun- 
dred houses,  and  by  winter  a  population  estimated  at  3000.4* 
In  the  dozen  gulches  of  the  district  men  were  in  June  making 
from  five  to  thirty  dollars  per  day.4*  A  valuable  quartz  lead, 
the  Rocky  Fellow,  was  soon  discovered.  Two  executions  oc- 
curred, one  in  legal  form,  another— that  of  a  Spanish  gambler— 
by  the  mob.46  Settlers  began  taking  up  lands  along  Powder 
River  and  many  immigrants  or  "Pilgrims"  came  in  from  the 
East,  so  that  at  one  time  there  were  150  women  in  camp.  But 
in  1863  the  immigrants  began  to  turn  to  the  beautiful  Grande 


"  Overland  Press,  March  17,  1862. 

40  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Aug.   1,  1862. 

41  Id.   Sept.  9,   1863. 

« Mineral   Resources,   1870,    p.    224;    Carmany,    John    H.,    Review    of  Mining 
Interests  of  the  Pacific  Coast  for  1866,  p.  9. 

43  An  account  of  the  beginnings  in  this  locality  Is  given  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Pack- 
wood  In  Mineral  Resources,  1871,   pp.  179-80. 

44  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  December  2,  1862. 

48  Id.  July  1,  1862. 

49  Id.  December  15,  1862;  also  Oregonian,  October  4,  1862. 

[209] 


74  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Ronde  valley  and  helped  to  build  up  La  Grande,  and  the  miners, 
finding  that  the  water  supply  was  inadequate,  flocked  away  to 
Boise  Basin  and  to  other  camps,  and  decline  rapidly  set  in. 

An  interesting  political  development  occurred,  however,  in 
1862,  when  the  people  in  the  vicinity  of  Auhurn,  not  being  con- 
tent with  being  an  election  precinct  of  "Wasco  County,  organized 
a  new  county  and  named  it  Baker  (after  the  famous  senator  of 
that  name),  elected  a  full  set  of  county  officers,  and  chose  J.  M. 
Kirkpatrick  to  represent  them  in  the  next  legislature.47  But  the 
legislature  temporarily  refused  its  sanction.48  It  is  significant 
of  the  growth  of  Eastern  Oregon  that  in  the  presidential  vote 
of  1864  the  counties  east  of  the  Cascades  polled  4455  votes  out 
of  a  t6tal  for  the  State  of  18,350.  The  political  proclivities  of 
the  majority  of  the  residents  are  indicated  from  the  fact  that 
while  the  state  went  for  Lincoln  by  1431  votes,  McClellan  car- 
ried the  eastern  counties  by  287  votes.49 

Auburn  was  a  '  *  mother  of  mining  camps ' '  whence  prospecting 
parties  explored  in  all  directions.50  The  most  important  of 
these  parties  was  that  which,  under  the  leadership  of  George 
Grimes  and  Moses  Splawn,  late  in  the  summer  of  1862  discovered 
the  placers  on  Grimes'  Creek  in  Boise  Basin.  The  journey 
thither  was  most  venturesome — the  swift  Snake  had  to  be  crossed, 
and  the  prowling  Indians  of  the  vast  plains  of  the  upper  Snake 
knew  no  peace.  Grimes  himself  was  killed  by  the  Indians  just 
after  the  uncovering  of  rich  prospects.  We  catch  a  glimpse  from 
one  of  their  number  of  the  feelings  of  this  little  band  of  eleven 
men  alone  in  the  great  wilderness  far  from  their  friends  at 
Auburn  and  from  the  soldiers  at  Walla  Walla :  He  writes  sim- 
ply, "We  *  *  carried  Grimes  to  a  prospect  hole  and 
buried  him  amid  deep  silence.  He  was  our  comrade,  and  we  had 
endured  hardships  and  dangers  together  and  we  knew  not  whose 
turn  would  come  next."51  They  escaped  in  safety  to  Walla 
Walla,  however,  and  in  October  were  back  in  the  Basin.  During 
the  winter  other  creeks  besides  Grimes'  were  found  to  pay,  and 


*7  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  June  24,  1862. 

48  Id.  October  4,  1862. 

49  Presidential  vote  in  Oregon,  Id.  January  2,  1865. 

50 '.the  phrase  is  Packwood's,  Mineral  Resources,  1871,  p.  180. 
Bl  Splawn,  in   Hailey's  Idaho,  p.  42. 


[210] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  75 

in  the  spring  came  a  rush  of  unusual  interest  and  importance. 
By  1864  there  was  a  population  in  the  Basin  approximately  of 
16,000,  one-half  of  whom  were  engaged  in  mining;  the  other 
half,  were  occupied  as  "merchants,  lumbermen,  hotel  and  res- 
taurant keepers,  butchers,  blacksmiths,  saloon-keepers,  gamblers, 
theatrical  people,  lawyers,  ministers,  ranchers,  stockmen,  and 
transportation  companies. ' ': 

Not  only  were  the  mines  of  Boise  Basin  very  rich  and  easily 
worked  (producing  at  least  seventeen  million  dollars  in  the 
iirst  four  years)  but  also  they  were  so  situated  as  to  encourage 
home-making  and  the  upbuilding  of  a  permanent  community; 
although  at  first,  it  is  true,  most  of  the  people,  as  in  all  placer 
mining  communities,  were  intent  only  on  making  some  money 
and  getting  away.53  One  reason  why  this  region  soon  took  on 
an  air  of  permanency  was  that  the  climate  of  the  Boise  mines 
is  much  less  severe  than  that  of  Florence  or  of  Cariboo,  and  so 
towns  with  stable  interests  soon  sprang  up  within  the  Basin,  the 
largest  of  which  was  Idaho  City.  In  the  second  place,  a  fine 
location  for  an  important  trading  center  was  only  a  few  miles 
distant  in  the  Boise  Valley,  where  Boise  City  was  founded  in 
the  summer  of  1863  and  Ft.  Boise  established  the  same  year.5* 
The  town  was  beautifully  laid  out,  with  wide  streets,  and  its  first 
promoters  were  exceptionally  enterprising  and  far-sighted  men. 
It  grew  rapidly  into  the  leading  city  of  the  new  Idaho  Territory 
arid  became  the  permanent  capital.  A  third  reason  for  the 
permanent  character  of  the  southern  Idaho  community  is  found 
in  the  proximity  to  the  mines  of  the  fine  and  fertile  valleys  of 
the  Payette  and  of  the  Boise,  which  were  soon  taken  up  by  settlers. 
Again,  the  fact  that  this  community  was  on  the  well-used  Oregon 
trail  helped  to  bring  in  a  larger  proportion  of  families ;  and  this 
proportion  was  increased  by  a  large  migration  of  families  from 
Missouri,  which  came  to  escape  the  pressure  of  war  conditions. 


52  Hailey's  Idaho,  p.  170. 

"Lindgren,  Waldemar,  The  Mining  Districts  of  the  Idaho  Basin  and  the 
Boise  Ridge,  ISth  An.  Rpt.  U.  S.  Geol.  Sur.  pt.  Ill,  p.  655.  He  estimates  the 
total  production  of  the  Boise  Basin  to  1896  at  $44,651,800,  of  which  $4,000,000 
was  quartz. 

"Accounts  of  these  beginnings  are  found  In  Bristol's  Idaho  Nomenclature 
(MS)  and  in  Hailey's  Idaho,  pp.  88-90.  An  important  expedition  against  In- 
dians is  narrated  in  the  latter,  pp.  49-60. 

[211] 


76  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

In  Boise  Basin  alone  there  were  in  1865,  799  persons  under  twen- 
ty-one years  of  age  of  whom  278  were  girls,  and  197  were  chil- 
dren under  four  years  of  age.55  In  the  last  place,  quartz  dis- 
coveries were  soon  made  in  near-by  localities,  and  their  develop- 
ment called  for  capital  and  abiding  population.  The  principal 
quartz  districts  were  at  Quartzburg,  on  the  edge  of  the  Basin, 
at  Rocky  Bar  on  the  south  Boise,  and,  most  important  of  all,  in 
the  Owyhee  region,  southwest  from  Boise  City,  across  the  Snake." 
The  party  which  initiated  the  Owyhee  movement,  leaving 
Boise  in  May  of  1863,  discovered  promising  placer  diggings  on 
a  tributary  of  the  Owyhee,  which  was  named  after  the  leader  of 
the  party  Jordan  Creek.67  When  the  news  of  the  discovery 
reached  Boise,  hundreds  of  men  rushed  off  so  distractedly  for 
the  new  diggings  that  one  correspondent  facetiously  reported  a 
" special  forty-eight-hour  insanity  for  Owyhee"  to  have  devel- 


M  Report  of  J.  A.  Chittenden,  Territorial  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Otcyhee 
Avalanche,  Sept.  28,  1865. 

M  The  principal  sources  for  the  history  of  Boise  Basin,  Boise  City,  and  vicin- 
ity are  the  following  : — 

1.  The    Bancroft   MSS.    furnish: 

Branstetter,  J.  H.,  First  Discovery  of  Boise  Basin.     (With  this  should 

be   read  Splawn's  account  in  Hailey's  Idaho,  pp.  36-44). 

Bristol,  Sherlock,  Idaho  Nomenclature.     This  is  of  special  value  for  the 

history  of  the  beginnings  of  Boise  City. 

Coghanour,    David,    Boise    Basin.     Coghanour    was    an    example    of    a 

thrifty,  saving  man. 

Butler  J.   S.,   Life  and  Times  in  Idaho.     (With   this   compare   Butler'i 

chapter  In   Hailey's    Idaho,   pp.    183-187). 
Knapp,  Henry  H.,  Statement  of  Events  in  Idaho. 
McConnell,  W.  J.,  Idaho  Inferno. 
Angelo's  Idaho  is  a  pamphlet,  which,  after  a  diatribe  against  Governor 

Douglas  of  British  Columbia,  narrates  Interestingly  the  observation! 

of  a  newspaper  correspondent's  visit  to  Idaho  in  1863. 

2.  Important  newspaper  sources,  after  the  establishment  of  papers,  are : 

The  Boise  Weekly  Statesman. 
The   Idaho    World. 
The  Oicyhee  Avalanche. 

3.  Books : 

Bowles,   Samuel,   Our   "New  West,  pp.   486-487. 

Richardson,  Albert  D.,  Our  Neiv  States  d  Territories,  1866,  pp.  78-79. 

Richardson,  Albert  D.,  Beyond  the  Mississippi,  p.  501. 

Rustling,  James  F.,  The  Great  West  and  the  Pacific  Coast,  pp.  223  & 

225. 

Bancroft,   Vol.   XXXI,   Washington,  Idaho  and  Montana. 
Mineral  Resources  of  the  V.  S.,  1868,   Report  of  J.   Ross  Browne,  pp. 

512-521. 

Hailey,  John,  The  History  of  Idaho.     Contains  important  source  material. 
w  There  is  a  resumg  of  the  history  of  Owyhee  in  the  Avalanche,  Aug.  19,  1865.. 

[212] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  77 

oped.58  The  placers  on  Jordan  Creek  proved  fairly  productive 
and  were  worked  vigorously  for  about  two  years.  But  the  gold 
was  of  poor  quality,  being  worth  only  ten  to  twelve  dollars  per 
ounce,  and  the  development  of  the  rich  quartz  lodes  soon  dwarfed 
the  placer  mining. 

The  first  discoveries  of  quartz  were  made  in  July  1863.     The 
richest  section  was  on  War  Eagle  Mountain.     This  mountain 
is  at  the  head  of  a  gulch  tributary  to  Jordan  Creek,  and  its  sum- 
mit, 5,000  feet  above  sea  level,  stands  out  2,000  feet  above  the 
mining  towns  on  the  creek  below.59     On  this  mountain  one  hun- 
dred claims  were  "claimed,  staked  and  recorded,"  in  some  of 
which  gold  predominated,  in  others  silver.60     The  history  of  one 
of  the  veins  of  War  Eagle  Mountain  deserves  special  considera- 
tion.    This  vein  was  first  discovered  in  1865  and  was  known  as 
the  Hays  and  Bay.     Other  parties  discovered  a  vein  (or  a  part 
of  the  Hays  &  Ray  vein)  which  crossed  the  latter,  the  two  being 
in  form  somewhat  like  the  letter  X.    The  later  discoverers  called 
their  vein  The  Poorman,  the  name  being  chosen  possibly  to  win 
sympathy  for  themselves.61     They  opened  their  vein  exactly  at 
the  spot  where  it  crossed  the  Hays  &  Ray,  at  which  point  there 
proved  to  be  a  chimney  of  ore  marvelously  rich.     It  ran  60  per 
cent,  bullion,  and  the  Poorman  people  took  out  of  it  $250,000  in 
two  weeks.62     The  latter  party  "seeing  that  they  would  become 
involved  in  litigation,  associated  their  company  with  some  capi- 
talists connected  with  The  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company, 
and  about  the  same  time  or  shortly  before  erected  a  fort  at  their 
mine  called  "Ft.  Baker",  built  of  logs,  with  portholes  and  other 
means  of  defense  usual  in  such  cases.     The  Hays  &  Ray  had  their 
work   [i.  e.  of  tracing  connection  with  the  Poorman  vein]    so 
nearly  completed  that  they  could  commence  suit,  but  could  not 
give  the  necessary  bonds. '  '83     They  therefore  gave  a-  portion  of 


"San   Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  July  17,   1863, 

"A   clear   sketch   map   of   the   Owyhee   district  is   in   Bancroft's   Works,  Vol. 
XXXI,  p.  417. 

••  Richardson,   Our  New   States  and   Territories,  p.   78. 
"Conversation  with  Hon.  W.  J.  McConnell. 

62  Richardson,  Beyond  the  Mississippi,  p.  509. 

63  Mineral  Resources,  1868,  p.  523.     Geo.  C.  Robbins  was  the  intermediary  in 
bringing  in  the  New  York  parties  and  "Put"  Bradford  the  S.  N.  Co.  capitalists. 
Maize,  Early  Events  in  Idaho,  p.  7. 

[213] 


78  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY   OF  WISCONSIN 

their  interest  to  the  New  York  and  Owyhee  Company,  which 
guaranteed  *to  carry  the  case  to  decision.  But  before  trial  a 
compromise  was  arrived  at  by  which  the  New  York  and  Owyhee 
party  got  the  larger  share.  This  mine  in  three  months  subse- 
quent to  the  consolidation  produced  in  net  proceeds  from  quartz 
reduced  in  local  mills  $390,000.  In  addition  fifteen  tons  of  se- 
lected ore  were  sent  to  a  smelter  in  Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  the 
bullion  product  ran  $4,000  per  ton.64 

The  special  interest  of  these  proceedings  to  us  lies  in  the  clear- 
ness of  the  call  from  this  newly  born  and  remote  mining  com- 
munity to  outside  capital  and  to  science.  Previous  to  this  con- 
troversy, mills  had  been  erected  by  both  groups  of  capital,  the 
Ainsworth  and  the  NewYork  and  Owyhee.  The  latter  cost  $120,- 
000,  had  twenty  stamps,  and  was  under  the  management  (in 
1869)  of  Mr.  John  M.  Adams,  one  of  the  first  graduates  of  the 
Columbia  University  School  of  Mines.65  The  Owyhee  district 
contained  in  1866  ten  mills  with  one  hundred  and  two  stamps. 
The  transportation  of  these  mills  into  the  wilderness  (300  miles 
of  the  route  being  by  wagons  from  the  Columbia  at  an  average 
freight  expense  of  25c  per  pound)  is  a  tribute  both  to  American 
enterprise  and  the  richness  of  the  mines.  But  eastern  capital 
was  in  some  cases  recklessly  squandered,  particularly  through 
incompetent  management.66  Capitalists,  it  was  becoming  clear, 
must  summon  the  aid  of  science  and  must  secure  more  thoroughly 
organized  control  over  investments  in  these  remote  regions. 

A  community  based  on  the  quartz  phase  of  the  mining  indus- 
try naturally  had  more  elements  of  permanency  than  one  founded 
on  the  floating  riches  of  placer  gravels.  Three  towns  along  Jor- 
dan Creek  came  into  existence  progressively  towards  the  quartz 
leads,  culminating  in  Silver  City.  Here  a  Sunday  school  was 
started  by  the  citizens,  a  union  church  was  erected,  and  a  news- 
paper established.  Here  also  lived  J.  A.  Chittenden,  who  was 
earnest  in  trying  to  start  schools  in  the  new  territory  and  who 
became  the  first  territorial  superintendent  of  public  instruction. 
The  solid  character  of  the  development  of  Owyhee  attracted  the 


64  Report  of  W.  D.  Walbridge,  Mineral  Resources,  1SG8,  p.  524. 

65  Mining  and  Scientific  Press,  Vol.  XII,  p.  279. 

68  Richardson,   licyond   the  Mississippi,   pp.   510-11  ;    also,   Mining  &   Scientific 
Press,  Vol.  XIII,  p.  343. 

[214] 


TRIMBLE — MINING  ADVANCE  79 

attention  of  the  Mining  and  Scientific  Press  of  San  Francisco, 
which  represented  the  growing  stability  of  the  mining  industry 
upon  the  Coast.  In  its  Review  for  the  year  1864,  it  said,  ''Per- 
haps the  most  noticeable  mining  development  of  the  past  year, 
upon  this  coast,  has  been  that  of  Idaho."67  Again,  speaking  es- 
pecially of  Owyhee :  ' '  There  is  very  good  reason  for  believing 
that  Idaho  is  destined  to  become  a  most  important  and  perma- 
nent mining  region.  Thus  far  operations  there  have  been  con- 
ducted upon  a  sound  basis,  with  very  little  of  the  speculative 
feature,  so  characteristic  of  new  mining  localities."68 

We  turn,  now,  to  trace  the  advance  of  the  miners  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Clarke 's  Fork  of  the  Columbia  and  to  the  sources 
of  the  Missouri,  into  territory  afterwards  included  in  Montana. 
The  discovery  of  gold  in  this  region  was  due  to  two  streams  of 
development:  that  of  the  " Mountain  men"  and  that  of  immi- 
grants to  the  Salmon  River  mines. 

The  Deer  Lodge  Valley,  on  the  upper  waters  of  Clarke's  Fork, 
had  long  been  frequented  by  "mountain  men"  and  trappers, 
some  of  whom  traded  during  the  summer  far  to  the  south  with  the 
immigrants  on  the  great  trails,  and  in  winter  continued  their 
business  with  the  Indians  in  the  northern  valleys.  So  early  as 
1852  a  Red  River  half-breed  by  the  name  of  Benetsee  had  found 
float  gold  on  Gold  Creek.  More  important  was  the  arrival  in 
Beaverhead  valley  of  James  and  Granville  Stuart  in  the  fall  of 
1857.  These  were  miners  of  high  character  who  had  left  Cali- 
fornia for  a  visit  to  their  old  home  in  Iowa,  but,  hindered  by  the 
Mormon  war  of  1857,  they  had  turned  north  with  the  moun- 
taineers. Having  found  on  this  trip  fair  prospects  at  Gold 
Creek,  they  returned  in  the  winter  of  1860-61.  They  were  dis- 
appointed in  not  getting  supplies  at  Ft.  Benton,  and  had  to  send 
to  Walla  Walla  for  picks  and  shovels.  In  May  of  1862,  they 
commenced  operations,  but  with  indifferent  success.69 

Soon  parties  began  to  arrive  whose  aim  was  to  get  to  the  Sal- 


«7  Vol.  X.  p.  8. 

48  June  3rd,  1865.  To  the  authorities  for  Owyhec  should  be  added  Lindgren, 
Waldemar,  The  gold  and  silver  veins  of  Silver  City,  De  Lamar  and  other  mining 
districts  in  Idaho,  20th  Ann.  Rpt.  U.  S.  Geol.  Sur.,  Pt.  3,  1900,  p.  233  ff. 

cs)  This  account  is  taken  from  the  Life  of  James  Stuart  by  Granville  Stuart, 
Con*.  His.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  36-61. 


[215] 


30  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

mon  River  mines.  Some  of  these  immigrants  came  up  the  Mis- 
souri by  boat  to  Ft.  Beiiton  and  from  there  started  by  the 
Mullan  Road  for  the  Salmon  River  fields ;  others  came  with  the 
Fiske  overland  expedition  across  the  plains  from  Minnesota  to 
Ft.  Benton;  still  other  parties  from  Pike's  Peak70  and  Missouri, 
diverging  from  the  great  emigrant  trail,  tried  to  reach  the  cen- 
ter of  excitement  by  cutting  across  to  Salmon  River,  but  were 
compelled  to  turn  north  towards  Deer  Lodge  Valley  and  the 
Mullan  Road.  Explorations,  of  course,  were  taking  place  in  all 
directions  by  these  various  parties,  and  a  number  of  promising 
' '  diggings ' '  were  discovered.71  Of  these  the  most  important  was 
situated  on  Willard,  or  Grasshopper  Creek,  an  affluent  of  the 
Missouri. 

It  was  in  August  of  1862  that  the  first  bar  was  discovered  on 
this  creek  by  John  White,  and  towards  this  locality  thereafter 
converged  parties  from  various  directions.  Thus  the  first  im- 
portant mining  camp  in  Montana  started.  A  miner's  district 
was  organized,  and  a  town  of  log  huts  came  into  existence  with 
the  name  of  East  Bannack.  The  yields  were  good.  One  "pil- 
grim" panned  out  ten  dollars  one  morning  and  got  fifteen  dollars 
more  in  the  afternoon  with  a  rocker — big  wages  for  a  man  from 
the  States.  Two  took  out  $131  in  a  week.72  A  fine  quartz  lode, 
the  Dacotah,  was  discovered  in  December,  and  a  rude  mill  was 
built  that  winter.73  There  are  preserved  the  names  of  410  per- 
sons who  spent  the  winter  of  1862-3  in  Bannack  City  and  vi- 
cinity, Dakotah  Territory,  and  of  these  thirty-three  were 
women.74 

From  Bannack  there  proceeded  in  February,  a  prospecting 
party  which  discovered  placers  completely  eclipsing  those  hith- 
erto discovered  in  Montana.  It  was  through  mere  chance  that 
the  discovery  was  made,  for  these  prospectors,  starting  as  part 
of  an  expedition  to  the  Yellowstone,  had  failed  to  make  connec- 


70  In  the  phraseology  of  the  miners  "Colorado"  was  seldom  used,  but  the  region 
was  spoken  of  as  Pike's  Teak,  and  people  from  that  region  were  "Pike's  Peakers." 

71  These  explorations  were  sketched  by   Granville  Stuart,   Contr.  His.  Society 
Mont.,  Vol.  II,  p.  123  ;  see  also  Bradley  Mss.,  Bk.  3,  p.  281. 

72  Diary  of  J.  II.  Morley,  MS.,  Sept.  15  and  Oct.  4,  1862. 

73  W.  A.  Clark  in  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  II,  p.  51 ;  also  Mineral  Resources, 
1808,  p.  4G8. 

74  Contr.  Hist.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  334-354. 

[216] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  81 

tions  with  the  other  part  of  the  expedition,  and,  after  a  toilsome 
journey  ending  in  being  plundered  by  Indians,  had  been  forced 
to  turn  back.  On  the  way  back  they  prospected  in  a  gulch  which 
one  of  the  party  named  Alder,  and  the  returns  were  most  prom- 
ising. We  get  a  glimpse  of  the  diverse  nativity  of  the  miners 
from  the  records  of  these  discoverers.  The  party  consisted  of 
the  following: 

Bill  Fairweather,  native  of  New  Brunswick,  St.  John's  River, 

Mike  Sweeney,  native  of  Frederickstown,  St.  John's  River. 

Barney  Hughes,  native  of  Ireland. 

Harry  Rodgers,  native  of  St.  John 's,  Newfoundland. 

Tom  Cover,  native  of  Ohio. 

Henry  Edgar,  native  of  Scotland." 

Some  of  these  men  had  been  mining  at  Salmon  River,  and  at 
least  one  in  British  Columbia.76 

They  found  here  a  gold  field  richer  than  any  they  had  worked 
in,  for  Alder  Gulch  produced  in  three  years  thirty  millions  of 
dollars.77  It  was  populated  swiftly.  The  principal  town  was 
Virginia  City,  which  soon  became  a  thriving  municipality  with 
substantial  buildings,  a  newspaper,  churches  and  schools,  as  well 
as  hurdy-gurdys,  saloons,  and  theatres.  The  columns  of  its  first 
paper,  The  Post,  give  us  a  vivid  picture  of  the  town,  as  it  chron- 
icles the  hosts  of  incoming  *  *  pilgrims, ' '  a  fireman 's  procession  of 
two  companies  with  gay  uniforms,  a  poster  warning  against  the 
use  of  deadly  weapons,  and  the  building  of  water  works.  In  one 
issue  a  prize  fight  is  announced  whereat  no  weapons  are  to  be 
allowed  in  the  enclosure;  in  another  a  notice  is  inserted  that 
Professor  Dimsdale's  school  will  open  on  Idaho  St.,  behind  Mr. 
Lomax's  Corral,  "  where  all  branches  included  in  the  curriculum 
of  the  best  seminaries  will  be  taught  for  $1.75  per  week,  and 
strictest  attention  will  be  given  to  the  morals  and  deportment  of 
the  pupils."78  The  population  of  Madison  County,  in  which 
Alder  Gulch  was  situated  was  in  1864,  11,493.™ 

The  comments  of  an  intelligent  miner  give  us  a  view  of  the 


"Journal  of  Henry  Edfjar,  Con.  His.  8oc.  Mont.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  141. 
n  Contr.  His,  8oc.  Mont.,  Vol.  VII,  197. 
TT  Mineral  Resources,  1868,  p.  507. 
nPo8t,  Sept  17  &  23,   1864. 
"Pnst,  Oct.  S,   1864. 

[2171 


82  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Gulch  as  it  appeared  to  him  while  out  for  a  walk  in  November  of 
1863.  "It  surprises  me  to  see  how  rapidly  this  country  im- 
proves. First,  two  miles  below  here  is  Virginia  City,  a  thriving 
village  with  many  business  houses ;  then  one  mile  farther  down 
is  Central  City,  not  quite  so  large;  then  in  another  mile  you 
enter  Nevada,  as  large  as  Virginia;  then  about  a  mile  and  one- 
half  further  Junction  City.  The  road  connecting  all  these 
'cities'  is  bordered  with  dwellings,  on  both  sides  all  along.  *  *  * 
Recalling  that  only  eighteen  months  ago  this  was  a  'howling 
wilderness,'  etc., — truly  truth  is  more  wonderful  than  fiction  and 
excels  in  marvelousness  even  the  Arabian  Nights,  but  truth  and 
the  marvelous  go  hand  in  hand  when  Young  America  finds  a 
good  gold  gulch."80 

It  was  in  September  of  1864  that  a  party  of  Georgian  miners, 
prominent  among  whom  was  John  Cowan,  began  regular  mining 
operations  at  Last  Chance  Gulch.  Other  parties  followed,  par- 
ticularly from  Minnesota.  A  village  sprang  up  in  the  Gulch  at 
first  called  ''Crab  Town"  and  soon  after  Helena.81  This  village 
was  a  natural  center  for  many  rich  gulches  which  were  opened 
up  back  of  it — such  as  Oro  Fino,  Grizzly,  and  Nelson's — and  be- 
sides was  well  situated  for  trade  between  Ft.  Benton  and  the 
mining  localities  farther  west.  Quartz  was  soon  discovered, 
and  in  December  of  1864  the  celebrated  "Whitlatch  Union  vein 
was  struck,  the  total  yield  of  which  up  to  1876  was  estimated  at 
$3,000,000.82  Placer  mining  also  yielded  largely  in  all  the 
gulches,  but  was  hindered  by  scarcity  of  water.  One  nugget  of 
solid  gold  was  accidentally  thrown  out  by  a  sluice  fork,  which 
was -valued  at  over  $2.000.83  A  newspaper,  The  Radiator,  was 
transferred  from  Lewiston,  Idaho,  to  Helena  in  1865. 84  Vir- 
ginia City  was  gradually  displaced  as  first  in  population  and  im- 
portance. 

In  three  years  the  economic  and  social  foundations  of  Montana 
were  laid.  A  review  of  some  of  the  salient  facts  and  tendencies 
of  the  founding  of  the  new  community  are  brought  out  in  a 


80  Diary  of  J.  H.  Morley,  MS.,  Nov.  12,  1863. 

S1  Diary  of  Gilbert  Benedict,  MS.,  Oct.  8  &  14,  1864.    ' 

82  W.  A.  Clark  in  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  II,  p.  51. 

83  Cornelius  Hedges  in  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  II,  p.  112. 

84  Ou-yhee  Avalanche,  Nov.  4,  1865. 


[218] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  83 

thoughtful  address  by  Hon.  W.  F.  Sanders,  himself  a  leader  and 
founder.  His  subject  was  * '  The  Pioneers  " :  "  From  far  away  Ore- 
gon, through  solemn  forests,  by  the  Pend  d'  Oreille  Lake,  by  the 
Mullan  Koad,  by  the  Nez  Perces  Trail,  by  the  Boise  Basin,  they 
[the  Pioneers]  journeyed  to  the  hidden  springs  of  the  Missouri 
and  Columbia.  From  the  golden  shores  of  shining  California 
with  appetites  whetted  by  the  pursuit  of  this  patrician  industry, 
they  crossed  forbidden  deserts  and  over  trackless  wastes  to  the 
newly  discovered  Treasure  House  of  the  Nation.  From  recently 
occupied  Colorado,  by  the  Cache  Le  Poudre,  by  the  Laramies,  by 
Bitter  Creek,  they  came  to  the  Shining  Mountains,  finding  a 
promising  field  for  mining  activity.  From  all  the  states  border- 
ing on  the  Great  Eiver  that  we  give  to  the  valley  which  is  the 
Nation's  heart,  came  an  onrushing  tide  of  eager,  confident  im- 
migrants as  they  swept  up  the  Platte  across  the  mountains  and 
over  the  Lander  Road  and  Snake  River  or  down  the  Big  Horn 
to  the  famed  Beaver  Head  country.  Another  contribution  of 
sturdy  men  and  women  daunted  at  no  obstacle  and  intent  on 
conquest  over  forbidden  difficulties  came  from  distant  Minne- 
sota by  Forts  Totten,  Abercrombie  and  Union  north  of  the  Mis- 
souri River  and  first  located  in  this  valley.  *  *  *  Brought 
face  to  face  with  each  other  they  [these  peoples]  were  confronted 
with  the  newness  of  the  land,  with  ignorance  of  its  geography, 
topography,  resources,  climate  and  above  and  beyond  all  with 
the  fact  that  they  were  strangers  each  to  the  others.  In  coming: 
hither  they  outran  law.  They  found  here  no  pre-extinct  civiliza- 
tion. In  the  raw  they  brought  it  with  them,  and  its  secure 
planting  was  at  first  an  awkward  and  imperious  duty.  Opinions 
clashed.  There  was  no  tribunal  to  settle  differences;  they  had 
to  be  argued  out  to  ultimate  results  without  artificial  or  extrane- 
ous aid.  Unique  characters  with  strange  and  sometimes  un- 
known history  and  weird  experiences  abounded.  Social  life: 
and  economic  life  boiled.  Industry  was  a  tumultuous  struggle, 
the  turmoil  was  active  and  the  process  of  unification  was  slow. 
No  houses,  no  highways,  no  fences,  no  titles;  verily,  the  world 
was  all  before  them  where  to  choose."85 


86  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  IV,  122-148. 

[219] 


84  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Their  choice  was  in  part  guided  by  information  derived  from 
white  " waifs  of  civilization,"  who  had  identified  themselves 
with  the  Indians.  There  were  also  "discards  of  civilization/ ' 
the  highwaymen  and  free  hooters,  not  romantic  creatures,  but 
''ugly  facts  of  flesh  and  blood. " 

"Events  in  those  early  times,  profoundly  affecting  our  situa- 
tion here  moved  swiftly.  The  creation  of  the  new  Territory  of 
Montana,  the  establishment  of  governmental  mails  July  1,  1864, 
with  its  consequent  regular  stage  transportation  from  Salt  Lake 
City,  the  installation  of  governmental  officers,  the  election  and 
action  of  our  first  legislative  assembly,  the  construction  of  a 
telegraphic  line,  the  permission  of  the  government  to  have  news- 
papers transmitted  in  the  mails,  the  building  of  the  Union  Pa- 
cific Railroad,  were  events  which  deeply  affected  the  material 
;and  social  interests  of  these  communities. " 

Conditions  similar  to  those  of  Montana  existed  in  the  other 
regions  populated  by  the  mining  advance.  Because  of  this  ad- 
vance which  we  have  surveyed  in  the  preceding  chapters,  as  we 
'have  seen,  a  new  British  colony  was  formed,  and  there  came  into 
.being  two  new  American  territories.  The  act  forming  the  terri- 
tory of  Idaho  was  approved  March  3rd,  1863,  and  that  forming 
Montana  May  26,  1864. 

In  the  following  chapters  I  shall  next  attempt  to  discuss  special 
economic  and  social  phases  of  the  mining  advance,  particularly 
keeping  in  view  comparisons  between  British  Columbia  and  the 
American  territories. 


[220] 


PART  II 


ECONOMIC  ASPECTS  OF  THE  MINING  ADVANCE 


[221] 


TRIMBLE—MINING  ADVANCE  87 


CHAPTER  VI 

METHODS  OF  PRODUCTION  AND  ORGANIZATION  OF 

INDUSTRY 

In  the  development  of  a  gold  field  from  its  first  discovery  by 
prospecting  up  to  the  complicated  methods  of  extraction  of 
quartz,  cooperation  is  necessary.  I  mention  this  important  point 
in  the  beginning  of  this  discussion,  because  it  is  basic  in  the  con- 
sideration of  the  industry  and  of  society  founded  upon  this  indus- 
try, and  because  in  common  conception  the  individualism  of 
placer  mining  and  society  is  often  greatly  exaggerated.  The 
"lone  prospector"  in  the  period  we  are  considering  was  largely 
a  myth. 

Prospecting  was  carried  on,  as  a;  general  thing,  in  small  or- 
ganized parties,  consisting  of  five  or  six  up  to  perhaps  fifty  men.1 
Careful  preparations  were  made,  particularly  with  respect  to 
providing  horses,  food,  arms,  and  mining  utensils.  The  latter 
would  consist  of  picks,  shovels,  and  always  "pans" — vessels  of 
iron  or  tin  six  or  eight  inches  deep  and  a  foot  or  more  in  diame- 
ter at  the  bottom,  useful  not  only  in  "panning  out"  gold,  but 
also  for  mixing  bread.  These  companies  were  composed  of  ex- 
perienced miners,  generally  "  Californians. "  Immigrants  from 
Missouri,  Minnesota,  the  *  *  States, ' '  or  England  did  comparatively 
little  prospecting.  It  is  interesting  to  notice,  however,  the  pres- 
ence of  Georgians  in  Cariboo,  Alder  Gulch,  and  at  Last  Chance.2 
For  weeks  and  months  an  expedition  might  range  over  hundreds 
of  miles  of  mountains,  valleys  and  canons,  studying  the  geology 
of  the  country,  prospecting  wherever  indications  were  good,  and 


1  In  later  times  often  only  two  men  might  go  prospecting,  when  danger  from 
Indians  was  lessened.     Remarks  of  Judge  W.  Y.  Pemberton. 

2  The  gold  mines  of  Georgia  do  not  seem  to  have  had  the  attention  which 
their  importance  warrants  in  the  mining  history  of  the  United  States. 

[223] 


88  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

once  in  a  while  fighting  Indians.  Often  failure  resulted,  but 
sometimes  came  one  of  the  most  thrilling  and  exhilerating  ex- 
periences in  the  whole  gamut  of  human  endeavor,  when  the 
" color"  was  found,  and  the  scales  assured  two  dollars  and  forty 
cents  per  pan — twelve  dollars  and  thirty  cents  from  three  pans 
— one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  a  single  day's  work!3 

When  diggings  affording  such  prospects  were  discovered,  the 
next  step  was  to  stake  claims.  One  should  not  think  of  a  placer 
claim  as  approaching  in  size  an  agricultural  claim.  Conceive  a 
gulch  (such  as  Grizzly,  back  of  Helena)  nine  miles  long,  the 
flat  portion  one  hundred  or  more  feet  wide  between  hilly  or 
mountainous  sides.  Claims  in  such  a  gulch  would  generally  ex- 
tend from  hill  to  hill  and  be  in  width  one  hundred  feet.  The 
claims  were  numbered  up  and  down  the  gulch  from  the  "  Dis- 
covery" claim.  Discoverers  were  entitled  to  one  claim  by  pre- 
emption and  one  by  discovery.  Later  coiners  were  entitled  only 
to  a  preemption  claim.  As  a  general  thing  a  man  could  purchase 
in  addition  one  claim,  but  sometimes,  when  a  camp  was  quite 
thoroughly  worked,  more  than  one.  If  the  flat  was  wide,  claims 
would  be  from  100  feet  square  to  250  feet  square,  dependent  on 
the  district  laws.  The  British  Columbia  code  allowed  only  100 
feet  square,  while  in  the  American  territories  there  seems  to 
have  been  a  tendency  to  expand  the  size  of  the  claims.4  A  man 
could  hold  claims  such  as  the  above  in  more  than  one  district, 
and  besides  he  could  hold  claims  on  different  kinds  of  placer 
ground.  The  claims  on  Alder  Gulch  were  bar  and  creek;  in 
British  Columbia  there  were  bar,  creek  or  ravine,  and  hill 
claims.6 


•These  are  actual  figures  from  Alder  Gulch.  "A  more  happy  lot  of  boys  It 
would  be  bard  to  find,  though  covered  with  seedy  clothes." — Journal  of  Henry 
Edgar,  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  139. 

4  Governor  Douglas  at  first  required  very  small  claims,  in  dry  diggings  25  by 
30  ft.  unless  otherwise  established  by  a  by-law ;  but  the  regular  size  was  later 
100  feet  square.  See  Rules  and  Regulations  for  the  Working  of  Gold  Mines,  /*- 
sued  in  Conformity  with  the  Gold  Fields  Act,  1859 ;  also  Park,  Joseph,  a  Practical 
View  of  the  Mining  Laics  of  British  Columbia  (1864),  pp.  13  &  14.  See  also  ft* 
to  decided  tendency  to  larger  claims  in  American  territory,  Angelo's  Idaho,  pp. 
25-6.  Claims  at  Oro  Pino  were  held  150  feet  front  by  250  feet  across  th* 
stream,  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Aug.  2,  1861. 

6  Original  agreement  of  Wm.  Fairweather,  et  al.,  with  other  prospectors.  MS ; 
Park,  Joseph,  Practical  View  of  Mining  Laws  of  British  Columlria.  The  latter 
defines  bar  diggings  as  "that  portion  of  the  banks  of  a  river  over  which  the  river 

[224] 


TRIMBLE— MIXING  ADVANCE  89 

It  should  be  carefully  noticed  here  that  the  plan  of  a  mining 
camp  corresponded  more  nearly  to  that  of  a  town  than  to  that 
of  a  country  district.  While  the  camps  themselves  were  scattered 
and  isolated,  within  each  camp  the  structure  was  comparatively 
concentrated.  Hence,  again,  we  see  that  combination,  co-opera- 
tion, and  organization  are  basic  factors  in  mining  life.  Having 
staked  their  claims,  the  discoverers  of  new  fields  from  lack  of 
supplies  or  fear  of  the  natives  were  generally  compelled  to  re- 
turn to  some  camp  or  trading  centre.  There  the  news  invariably 
leaked  out  (a  man  surely  must  tell  his  friends,  for  whom  he 
had  already  probably  staked  out  claims),  and  a  local  rush  en- 
sued. Day  laborers,  who  constituted  four-fifths  of  the  popula- 
tion of  mining-camps,  late-comers,  who  came  in  crowds  into 
every  large  camp,  and  claim-owners  who  were  not  making  top- 
notch  figures  would  drop  every  employment,  put  up  every  dollar 
for  outfit  (or  go  without),  and  plunge  for  the  new  diggings. 
The  great  desideratum  was  to  be  the  first  on  the  ground. 
Merchants  and  packers,  also,  would  press  forward  their  trains 
eagerly,  for  the  man  who  got  a  well- laden  train  into  a  new  min- 
ing community  would  make  a  good-sized  fortune. 

A  vivid  picture  of  the  fever  of  a  rush  is  furnished  from  Oro 
Fino  when  the  news  of  the  Salmon  River  diggings  reached  the 
town:  "On  Friday  morning  last,  when  the  news  of  the  new 
diggings  had  been  promulgated,  the  store  of  Miner  and  Arnold 
was  literally  besieged.  As  the  news  radiated — and  it  was  not 
long  in  spreading — picks  and  shovels  were  thrown  down,  claims 
deserted  and  turn  your  eye  where  you  would,  you  would  see 
droves  of  people  coming  in  'hot  haste'  to  town,  some  packing  one 
thing  on  their  backs  and  some  another,  all  intent  on  scaling  the 
mountains  through  frost  and  snow,  and  taking  up  a  claim  in  the 
new  El  Dorado.  In  the  town  there  was  a  perfect  jam — a  mass 
of  human  infatuation,  jostling,  shoving  and  elbowing  each  other, 
whilst  the  question,  'Did  you  hear  the  news  about  Salmon 
River?',  'Are  you  going  to  Salmon  River?',  'Have  you  got  a 


in  Its  most  flooded  state  extends"  ;  a  creek  claim  as  "a  parcel  of  ground  taken 
up  on  the  alluvial  banks,  or  flats,  which  lie  on  each  side  of  a  river  or  stream" ; 
and  hill  claims  as  "situated  on  the  side  or  rise  of  the  hills  or  banks  which  run 
along  the  side  of  the  creek." — pp.  13-14. 


[225] 


90  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Cayuse?',  'How  much  grub  are  you  going  to  take?',  etc.,  were 
put  to  one  another,  whilst  the  most  exaggerated  statements  were 

made  relative  to  the  claims  already  taken  up Cayuse 

horses  that  the  day  before  would  have  sold  for  about  $25  sold 
readily  now  for  $50  to  $75,  and  some  went  as  high  as  $100. 
Flour,  bacon,  beans,  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  frying  pans,  coffee  pots 
and  mining  utensils,  etc.,  were  instantly  in  demand.  The  stores 
were  thronged  to  excess.  Pack  trains  were  employed,  and  the 
amount  of  merchandise  that  has  been  packed  off  from  this  town 
to  the  Salmon  river  diggings  since  yesterday  morning  is  really 
astonishing. '  '6 

When  an  ardent  crowd  like  this  reached  a  gulch  or.  basin,  and 
when  successive  crowds  from  farther  camps  and  towns  began  pour- 
ing in,  the  available  mining  ground  was  soon  occupied.  Before 
much  work  was  done,  however,  a  miners'  meeting  was  held,  and 
the  district  was  organized  by  electing  a  miners'  judge,  a  sheriff, 
and  a  recorder  and  by  passing  the  rules  of  the  camp.  Men  who 
had  been  schooled  in  California  camps  not  only  had  learned  to 
mine  skillfully,  but  turned  spontaneously  to  that  form  of  local 
political  organization  which  had  been  evolved  in  California.7  This 
was  true  not  only  in  the  American  territories,  but  also  in  the 
British ;  along  Fraser  River  and  in  Kootenai  steps  were  taken  in 
organization  prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  British  officials,  and  the 
success  of  these  officials  in  maintaining  law  was  due  in  very  con- 
siderable degree  to  the  orderly  instincts  and  methods  of  the  Cali- 
fornia miners.8 

One  of  the  most  important  of  the  district  rules  was  that  con- 
cerned with  representation.  Representation  meant  the  time  re- 
quired for  work  in  holding  a:  claim.  Ordinarily  one  day  out  of 
seven  was  required  during  the  working  season,  although,  some- 
times, as  in  Bivens  Gulch  (Montana)  two  days  at  first  were  neces- 


8  Letter  to  The  Portland  Advertiser,  October  29,  1801,  in  San  Francisco  Daily 
Bulletin,  Nov.  2,  1861. 

7  A  vivid  account  of  the  organization  of  California  camps  is  found  in  Davis, 
Hon.  John  F.,  Historical  Sketch  of  Mining  Law  in  California  (From  History  of 
Bench  and  Bar  in  Cal.)  pp.  16-33.  Shinn,  C.  H.,  Mining  Camps,  takes  up  the  sub- 
ject more  elaborately.  On  the  spread  of  California  ideas  consult  particularly  in 
the  latter  work  Chap.  XXV  on  Effects  upon  Western  Development. 

9  See  Copy  of  Miners'  Resolutions  at  Fort  Yale  Bar,  Cornwallis,  New  Eldorado, 
pp.  402-3  ;  also,  Report  of  A.  N.  Birch,  Colonial  Secretary  to  Governor  Seymour, 
Oct.  31,  1864,  fouud  in  Macfie,  Vancouver  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  pp.  255-262. 

[2261 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  91 

sary.  A  man  might  do  the  work  himself,  or  have  it  done.  In 
British  Columbia  it  was  required  that  representation  be  bona-fide 
and  not  colorable,  and  a  claim  was  considered  abandoned  if  left 
seventy-two  hours.  Bona-fide  representation,  however,  included 
clearing  brush  for  cabin,  building  cabin,  cutting  timber  away  from 
the  claim  for  works  on  the  claim,  and  bringing  in  provisions.9 

The  time  when  representation  was  not  reqiiired  or,  in  other 
words,  when  claims  were  "laid  over7'  was  determined  in  the 
American  territories  by  district  meeting,  in  British  Columbia  by 
the  local  gold  commissioner.  Claims  were  universally  laid  over 
during  the  winter  season,  but  might  be  laid  over  temporarily  at 
other  times — as  for  example,  during  prolonged  drouth.  The 
British  Columbia  method  of  control  seems  to  have  given  greater 
flexibility  for  adjustment  to  conditions.  "When  claims  were  laid 
over,  miners  could  absent  themselves  entirely  until  representa- 
tion was  again  required,  and  no  one  could  legally  jump  their 
claims.  This  arrangement  gave  miners  an  opportunity,  perhaps, 
to  return  to  their  homes  for  the  winter,  if  they  chanced  to  live  in 
the  Willamette  or  some  Coast  community,  or  at  any  rate,  to  go  to 
some  town,  as  Victoria,  Portland,  Lewiston  or  Boise,  where  living 
was  cheaper  than  in  the  mines,  life  more  attractive,  and  the 
chances  for  spending  all  one's  money  very  good.  Here,  then,  is 
another  peculiarity  of  a  mining  camp :  men  seldom  thought  of 
creating  homes  in  such  a  camp,  and  ownership  was  based  not  on 
residence,  as  in  agricutural  homesteads,  but  on  work  during  a 
portion  of  the  year. 

Still,  it  would  be  wrong  to  think  that  the  camps  were  wholly 
deserted  during  the  winter.  A  very  considerable  proportion  of 
the  miners  stayed,  and  these  occupied  themselves  in  sawing  lum- 
ber, making  sluices,  etc.,  and  (especially  in  deep  diggings)  in 
digging  shafts  and  drifting.  Mining  operations  in  the  latter 
class  of  diggings  could  be  carried  on  all  winter.  Camps  often  ac- 
quired, therefore,  more  of  stability  than  is  commonly  thought. 

It  .is  time,  however,  to  return  to  the  recently  discovered  and 
newly  organized  district  where  the  miners  were  ready  for  their 
work.  Theirs  was  a  busy  and  laborious  life,  and  it  did  not  con- 


•Park,  Joseph,  A  Practical  View  of  the  Mining  Laws  of  Br.  Col.,  pp.  41-43. 

[227] 


92  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

sist  of  picking  up  golden  nuggets  out  of  streams  and  spending 
most  of  their  time  in  hilariousness  and  adventure.  Work,  hard 
physical  toil,  was  necessary  to  development.10  In  the  first  place 
there  were  cabins  to  build,  and  in  this  labor  British  observers 
admired  the  skill  of  the  American  axemen — a  skillfulness  par- 
ticularly noticeable  in  Missourians,  or  those  recently  from  the 
"States."  Ditches  were  to  be  dug  and  sluices  and  flumes 
constructed.  Lumber  had  to  be  obtained  by  the  laborious  proc- 
ess of  whip-sawing,  and  good  whip-sawyers  could  always  make 
high  wages  until  the  inevitable  small  sawmill  arrived.11 

The  processes  of  placer  mining  were  somewhat  varied.  The 
simplest,  after  the  pan,  was  the  use  of  the  rocker,  which  was 
an  affair  constructed  somewhat  like  a  child's  old  fashioned 
cradle,  having  at  one  end  a  perforated  sheet  of  iron.  The 
rocker  was  placed  by  the  side  of  a  stream  and  one  man  rocked 
and  poured  water,  while  another  dug  and  carried  dirt.  This 
of  course  was  a  slow  process,  and  a  next  step  was  the  use  of 
the  sluice.12  Boxes  ten  or  twelve  feet  long,  twelve  inches  wide 
and  eleven  inches  deep,  were  arranged  in  ''strings"  in  such 
manner  as  to  allow  a  current  of  water  from  a  ditch  to  be  run 
through  the  boxes.  In  working  such  a  sluice  a  number  of  men 
could  be  utilized — some  to  strip  sod,  some  to  dig  and  wheel,  one 
to  throw  out  pebbles  and  boulders  with  a  sluice-fork  and  one 
to  throw  away  tailings.  Transverse  cleats  were  nailed  to  the 
bottom  of  both  rocker  and  sluice-box,  and  quick  silver  was 
poured  into  the  mixture  of  dirt  and  water  in  order  by  amalga- 
mation to  secure  a  larger  percentage  of  gold  than  would  other- 
wise be  possible.  A  farther  modification  of  the  sluice  was  the 
use  of  hydraulic  power,  in  the  shape  of  a  powerful  stream  of 
water  from  a  hose,  instead  of  picks  and  shovels.13 

"Intensity  of  work  was  increased  in  districts  where  water  could  be  secured 
only  for  a  short  season.  Night  shifts  were  often  used  then.  It  took  real  pa- 
triotism at  such  a  time  for  a  man  to  volunteer  on  an  expedition  against  maraud- 
ing Indians.  One  gets  an  idea  of  the  steady,  plodding  labor  necessary  to  de- 
velop a  claim  from  the  diary  of  J.  F.  Morley  where  day  after  day  is  the  entry, 
"At  work  in  the  shaft." 

11  Three  things  were  indispensable  to  a  placer  miner — water,  lumber,  and 
quick-silver. 

"The  "torn"  was  a  simple  form  of  sluice,  consisting  of  but  one  trough. 

18  Good  descriptions  of  processes  may  be  found  in  Goulder,  W.  A.  Reminig- 
cences  of  a  Pioneer,  pp.  211-214  ;  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  <&  B.  C.,  pp.  286-279  ;  Mineral  ( 
Resources,  1867,  pp.  16-23. 

[228] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  93 

The  pay  dirt  lay  next  to  the  bed-rock  and  in  shallow  dig- 
gings could  be  got  at  simply  by  stripping ;  but  in  a  number  of 
rich  fields  (Cariboo  and  Last  Chance,  for  examples)  the  pay 
stratum  or  lead  was  buried  under  twenty  to  sixty  feet  of  stream 
detritus,  and  then  shafts  and  drifting  had  to  be  resorted  to. 
Drifting  of  course  meant  digging  out  around  from  the  bottom  of 
the  shaft.  This  was  work  only  for  an  expert  miner,  and  a 
good  drifter  was  always  in  demand  at  wages  three  or  four 
dollars  a  day  higher  than  those  paid  for  ordinary  labor.  The 
use  of  shafts  and  drifts  required  timber  for  supports  and  the 
rigging  of  windlasses.  Water  and  boulders  often  bothered 
greatly,  especially  the  former.  Sometimes  pumps  were  made,  but 
often  a  bed  rock  flume  was  resorted  to.  In  its  construction  a 
miner  opened  up  a  ditch  on  the  bed  rock  from  a  point  low 
enough  to  drain  his  claim. 

In  carrying  on  these  various  forms  of  mining  labor,  the  skill 
of  old  Californians  was  pre-eminent,  and  everywhere  from  Cari- 
boo to  Owyhee  the  methods  and  opinions  of  Californians  were 
given  great  respect.  In  camps  where  there  were  many  "pil- 
grims" from  the  states  higher  wages  were  generally  paid  to  old 
miners.  The  Californians,  indeed,  were  apt  to  be  a  .bit  super- 
cilious with  regard  to  noviates;  at  Oro  Fino,  for  example,  they 
complained  that  the  Willamette  farmers  in  the  mines  did  not 
know  how  to  secure  gold  properly  from  the  dirt — to  which  the 
others  might  have  replied  that  neither  were  they  so  expert  in 
gambling  it  away  after  it  was  secured.14  The  scorn  of  the  ex- 
pert for  the  unskilled  is  somewhat  amusingly  revealed  in  a  letter 
from  Last  Chance,  where,  the  writer  says,  the  gulches  were 
"mostly  taken  up  by  Pilgrims,  who  know  more  about  raising 
wheat  or  cranberries,  or  handling  logs,  than  using  pick  and 
shovel. 

"Just  watch  them  handle  a  pick.  A  good  miner  has  a  pick 
drawn  to  a  fine,  sharp  point ;  he  works  underneath  the  pay  dirt 
on  the  bed  rock ;  you  know,  Mr.  Editor,  when  you  knock  away  a 
man's  underpinning  he  is  easily  brought  down;  and  so  it  is  with 
gravel — get  under  it  with  a  good  long,  sharp  pick,  and  it  is  easily 

"  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  August  21,  1861 ;  Bristow,  Reencounters,  MS. 

[229]    ! 


94  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

brought  down.  It  cannot  stand  on  nothing ;  but  a  green  horn 
has  a  short,  thick,  stubbed  pick;  he  stands  on  the  top,  like  a 
chicken  on  a  grain  pile ;  gets  out  one  rock  and  finds  he  has  an- 
other below  it  requiring  the  same  labor."15 

Yet  there  was  good  demand  in  every  thriving  camp  for  many 
kinds  of  labor,  so  that  men  turned  easily  to  that  employment  in 
which  they  had  had  previous  training. 

Notwithstanding  the  comparative  skillfulness  of  the  Califor- 
nians,  however,  the  placer  mining  of  this  period  was  wasteful, 
and  unconscious  of  conservation.  This  for  two  reasons :  In  the 
first  place  men  were  in  the  mines  simply  to  make  as  much  money 
as  they  could  and  get  away  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  This 
was  particularly  true,  of  course,  with  regard  to  residents  of  the 
Willamette  or  of  Missouri,  to  many  of  whom  a  trip  to  the  mines 
was  of  the  nature  of  an  excursion,  designed  to  make  a  little 
money  or  pay  off  a  mortgage.  In  the  case  of  the  habitual  miner 
there  was  no  possible  way  by  which  he  could  be  constrained  to 
work  old  ground  carefully,  when  he  could  make  large  sums  by 
hasty  working  and  then  hie  to  some  other  field.  A  man  cer- 
tainly could  not  be  expected  to  work  carefully  a  claim  that  did 
not  pay  more  than  wages.  In  the  second  place,  the  expenses  nec- 
essarily attendant  upon  opening  a  new  and  remote  placer  field 
by  the  modes  of  transportation  which  then  obtained,  were  so 
great  a  charge  upon  the  mines  that  only  the  very  richest  gravel 
could  be  profitably  worked.  These  placer  mines  had  to  pay 
for  establishing  routes  of  transportation  and  for  nurturing  civili- 
zation under  unfavorable  conditions.16  Whatever  the  reason, 
at  any  rate,  the  mines  were  skimmed,  and  the  wastage  was  enor- 
mous. Mr.  J.  Ross  Browne,  who  had  spent  years  in  the  mining 
regions  and  who  had  opportunity  to  know  the  situation  better 
than  anyone  else  in  the  United  States,  in  his  report  of  1868 
[though  he  does  not  mention  his  authorities]  says  that,  "At  a 
moderate  calculation,  there  has  been  an  unnecessary  loss  of 


16  Montana  Post,  April  29,  1865.  A  very  important  workman  In  each  mining 
locality  was  the  blacksmith.  The  worth  of  a  mining  field  was  estimated  in  part 
at  times  by  the  number  of  blacksmiths  employed  in  it. 

16  Moreover,  the  lack  of  the  "blue  lead"  beds  of  ancient  rivers  in  Montana  and 
Idaho  contributed  to  early  exhaustion,  compared  with  California ;  Carmany, 
Review  oj  1866,  p.  9. 

[230] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  95 

precious  metals  since  the  discovery  of  our  mines  of  more  than 
$300,000,000,  scarcely  a  fraction  of  which  can  ever  be  recovered. 
This  is  a  serious  consideration.  The  question  arises  whether  it 
is  not  the  duty  of  government  to  prevent,  as  far  as  may  be  con- 
sistent with  individual  rights,  this  waste  of  a  common  heritage, 
in  which  not  only  ourselves  but  our  posterity  are  interested."17 

It  was  true  that  waste  was  to  a  considerable  degree  relieved 
by  the  incoming  of  the  patient  Chinese  into  every  camp  after  the 
cream  had  been  taken  by  the  whites,  by  the  introduction  in  some 
cases  of  hydraulic  processes  by  which  low  grade  ground  could  be 
profitably  worked,  and  by  more  careful  methods  of  whites  who 
were  content  to  labor  on  after  the  flush  times  were  over.18  But 
it  remained  a  fact,  and  a  fact  of  importance  in  sociological  study 
of  early  mining  society,  that  mining  communities  economically 
based  on  placer  mines  were  wasteful  and  unstable. 

In  order  to  overcome  this  instability,  everywhere  the  more  sub- 
stantial miners,  business  men,  and  statesmen  turned  their  atten- 
tion to  quartz.  In  all  mining  regions,  therefore,  whether  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia,  Idaho,  Oregon,  or  Montana,  quartz  lodes  were 
eagerly  located  and  attempts,  more  or  less  elaborate  and  success- 
ful, were  made  at  development.19 

The  simplest  machinery  for  working  quartz  was  the  arrastra 
(or  arrastre),  originally  a  Mexican  invention.  This  consisted 
of  a  circular  area  paved  with  stones,  in  the  middle  a  post  and  to 
this  post  attached  a  sweep  to  which  a  mule  or  horse  was  hitched. 
A  block  of  granite,  fastened  to  the  sweep,  was  dragged  around 
over  the  quartz  distributed  within  the  circle.  The  remains  of 
these  old  arrastras  may  be  found  in  many  gulches  today.  Their 


17  Mineral  Resources  of  the  United  States,  1868,  p.  9. 

18  More  work  was  carried  on  than  is  commonly  thought,  after  the  crowds  of 
adventurers  had  vanished  and  newspaper  notices  become  sparse.     This  was  true 
of  such  places  as   Cariboo,  Oro  Pino  and  Warrens,  but  not  so  with  regard  to 
Salmon  River,  Auburn,  and  Kootenai. 

19  In  British  Columbia  the  following  bonuses  were  offered  : 

1.  £500  to  the  person  who  should  be  first  in  the  colony  successfully  to  work 

quartz,  gold  or  silver  by  machinery. 

2.  £500  for  discovery  of  a  good  coal  mine. 

3.  £500  for  building  the  first  vessel  in  the  Colony  of  not  less  than  500  tons. 

4.  £500  for  discovery    of  new  alluvial  diggings   capable  of  giving  employ- 

ment to  500  men.  [Notice  how  the  government  here  takes  the  initia- 
tive in  a  way  that  it  never  did  in  the  territories  to  the  south.]  Gov- 
ernment Gazette,  Jan.  7,  1865. 

[231] 


96  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

use  "required  neither  capital  nor  a  number  of  laborers.  The 
owner  of  the  arrastra  could  dig  out  his  own  rock  one  day,  and 
reduce  it  the  next. '  '20 

The  enterprise  of  Americans,  however,  forbade  contentment 
with  such  rude  machinery,  and  they  at  once  set  to  work,  in  spite 
of  enormous  obstacles,  to  construct  mills.  The  first  mill  in 
Montana  is  thus  described  by  one  of  the  pioneers  in  quartz: 
"An  overshot  wheel,  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  is  placed  on  a 
shaft  18  feet  long,  with  large  pins  in  the  shaft  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  the  stamps.  These  stamps  are  fourteen  feet  long  and  8 
inches  square,  and  strapped  with  iron  on  the  bottom,  which  work 
into  a  box  that  is  lined  on  the  sides  with  copper  plate  galvanized 
with  quicksilver,  so  as  to  catch  the  gold  as  the  quartz  is  crushed 
and  clashed  up  the  sides  of  the  box.  Then  we  have  an  opening 
on  one  side  of  the  box,  with  a  fine  screen  in  it,  through  which 
the  fine  quartz  and  fine  gold  pass,  and  run  over  a  table  covered 
with  copper.  "21 

More  elaborate  mills,  of  course,  were  constructed,  as  outside 
capital  was  enlisted,  and  these  mills  represented  what  may  be 
called  a  second  stage  in  quartz  development.  The  study  of  the 
reduction  of  gold  and  silver  in  such  a  mill  was  fascinating.  The 
quartz  was  first  broken  into  fragments  the  size  of  apples  by 
sledge  hammers  and  then  shoveled  into  feeders,  which  brought 
it  under  large  iron  stamps,  weighing  three  hundred  to  eight 
hundred  pounds,  and  which  "rising  and  falling  sixty  times  per 
minute  with  thunder  and  clatter,"  made  the  building  tremble, 
as  they  crushed  the  rock  to  wet  powder. 

"Quiet,  silent  workmen  run  the  pulp  through  the  settling 
tanks,  amalgamating  pans,  agitators  and  separators,  refuse  ma- 
terial passing  away,  and  quicksilver  collecting  the  precious  metal 
into  a  mass  of  shining  amalgam,  soft  as  putty.  This  goes  into 
the  fire  retort  where  it  leaves  the  quicksilver  behind  and  finally 
into  molds  whence  it  comes  forth  in  bars  of  precious  metals.22 

-°  Mineral  Resources,  1867,  p.  21. 

»  Letter  of  J.  F.  Allen  In  Campbell,  J.  L.,  Six  Months  in  the  New  Gold  Dig- 
gings, p.  35.  This  mill  was  near  Bannack  and  used  the  ore  from  the  Dakotah 
ledge. 

22  Richardson,  Albert  D.,  Beyond  the  Mississippi,  p.  501.  This  mill  was  in 
Owyhee. 

[232] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  97 

The  building  of  such  mills  and  the  working  of  quartz  claims 
required  the  use  of  capital  and  corporate  methods.  The  wast 
significant  development  in  the  mining  industry  during  the  decade 
1860-70  was  the  supercession  of  surface  placer  mining  methods^ 
wherein  the  individual  ivorking  in  informal  combination  had 
free  play,  by  quartz  mining  and  corporate  working  of  deep 
placer  diggings,  wherein  individualism  began  to  be  submerged 
and  capital  became  uppermost. 

The  necessity  of  this  process  is  clearly  apparent  when  we  look 
at  the  position  of  an  ordinary  miner  who  had  discovered  and 
perhaps  tested  a  good  quartz  lode.  He  could  with  some  trouble 
get  his  claim  duly  recorded  and,  with  more  trouble,  do  or  have 
done  the  assessment  work  required.  But  what  then?  He  did 
not  have  money  with  which  to  work  his  claim,  and  he  could  not 
pay  his  expenses  of  living  as  he  could  from  a  placer  claim. 
Hence,  if  he  was  to  realize  on  his  claim,  he  must  inevitably 
sooner  or  later  call  in  capital.  It  is  true  that  some  few  placer 
miners  saved  enough  to  equip  small  mills  and  that  there  was 
some  evidence  of  cooperative  organization  among  the  men,  but 
in  general  there  was  a  great  call  from  the  mining  fields  for  the 
application  of  capital.23 

Accordingly,  we  find  effort  on  the  part  of  local  claim  owners 
to  interest  outside  capital.  Portland  capitalists  invested  at 
Powder  River  and  Owyhee.  There  was  some  connection,  also, 
with  San  Francisco.  But  New  York  was  the  place  towards  which 
effort  turned  most  yearningly.  Hardly  had  the  Owyhee  quartz 
been  discovered,  when  Gen.  McCarver  started  east  to  interest 
New  York  capitalists.24  The  Avalanche  had  among  its  adver- 
tisements the  Agency  of  Geo.  L.  Curry  for  selling  feet  in  New 
York,  and  the  local  conditions  are  suggested  by  the  declaration 
of  an  editorial  that  ' '  There  should  be  less  ledges  and  more  New 
Yorks."25  The  participation  of  New  York  (and  of  some  other 


23  A  notable  case  of  cooperative  working  of  a  quartz  mine  was  that  of  the 
Oro  Fino,  in  Owyhee,  in  which  case  the  workmen,  on  the  failure  of  the  firm, 
assumed  the  indebtedness  and  operated  the  mine  successfully.  U.  S.  Commis- 
sioner Browne  commented  on  this  as  follows  :  "It  is  singular  that  so  few  mines 
are  worked  by  companies  of  operative  miners,  especially  when  we  see  how  suc- 
cessful such  companies  usually  are." 

14  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Dec.   2,  1864. 

36  Owyhee  Avalanche,  Sept.  9,  1865. 

[233] 


98  BULLETIN   OP  THE   UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

capitalistic  centers)  in  quartz  development  in  Montana  is  shown 
in  charters  granted  by  the  first  legislature.  Among  these  we 
may  mention  The  Montana  Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Company, 
whose  office  was  in  New  York;  The  Rocky  Mountain  Gold  and 
Silver  Mining  Company,  whose  stockholders  lived  in  Bannack, 
St.  Louis,  and  New  York;  and  The  American  Gold  and  Silver 
Mining  Company,  whose  stockholders  were  in  London,  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  St.  Louis  and  in  Montana.20  Concerning  British  Co- 
lumbia a  thoughtful  observer  wrote,  * '  Labor  has  hitherto  chiefly 
performed  what  has  been  done,  but  the  performance  has  been 
limited,  slow  and  imperfect.  Capital  must  finally  develop  the 
resources  of  the  country.  Its  aid  is  essential  to  their  full  de- 
velopment, but  to  attract  capital  it  must  have  free  scope,  and  a 
reasonable  amount  of  legal  protection  and  encouragement,  or, 
in  other  words,  as  much  protection  as  will  encourage  its  in- 
troduction. "27  The  shaping  of  laws  to  encourage  capital  is 
mentioned,  also,  in  the  first  message  of  Governor  Lyon,  of  Idaho : 
* '  All  legislation  should  be  carefully  molded  to  invite  capital,  and 
the  greater  the  inducement  held  out,  the  more  rapidly  will  our 
population  be  increased  and  the  greater  the  peoples'  prosper- 
ity. '  '28  This,  then,  was  the  situation :  development  in  these  min- 
ing communities  by  means  of  the  labour  of  individuals,  who  had 
little  capital  and  organization,  soon  reached  its  limit;  society 
stretched  forth  to  the  centers  of  capitalism  for  aid  and  was  will- 
ing so  to  modify  its  legislation  as  to  favor  the  introduction  of 
capital. 

This  movement  towards  capitalism  and  corporate  methods  was 
tremendously  accelerated  by  the  development  of  the  Comstock 
lode  in  Nevada.  "The  chief  gold  mines  of  California,"  wrote 
Commissioner  Browne,  "high  as  their  product  is,  are  small 
affairs  when  compared  with  the  vast  works  of  the  chief  silver 
companies  of  Nevada/'  "A  strip  of  land  six  hundred  yards 
wide  and  three  miles  long  yields  $12,000,000  annually.  There 
is  no  parallel  to  that  in  ancient  or  modern  times."29  "With  this 


of  Montana,  1864-5,   pp.   558-658. 
37  London  Times,  Aug.  26,  1863. 
'•"Hailey,  His.  of  Idaho,  p.  114. 
29  Mineral  Resources,  1867,  p.  72. 

[234] 


ll 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  99 

magnificent  yield  came  decisive  resort  to  corporate  methods. 
"Nothing  more  strikingly  illustrates  the  difference  between  the 
miners  of  California  and  those  of  Western  Utah, ' '  said  the  Mary- 
ville,  (California)  Appeal,  "than  the  frequent  formation  in  the 
latter  of  incorporated  companies  with  a  great  amount  of  capital 
stock. '  '30  This  development  in  Nevada  promptly  affected  Cali- 
fornia. In  an  editorial  on  The  System  of  Extensive  Mining  Cor- 
porations in  Washoe,  the  Bulletin  said :  "The  clear  tendency  of 
things  throughout  the  entire  mining  region  of  California  is  to 
this  end  [i.  e.,  combination].  Those  who  are  the  possessors  of 
quartz  or  'hydraulic  claims'  must  call  in  the  aid  of  capital  and 
science,  if  they  hope  to  make  their  possessions  profitable."31 

These  great  achievements  in  Washoe  aroused  the  capitalists  of 
San  Francisco — who  up  to  1860  had  been  quite  indifferent  to 
mining  investments — to  active  participation  in  the  process  of 
combination.32  This  participation,  however,  was  not  altogether 
healthful,  for  "it  was  reserved  for  Washoe  to  transfer  the  most 
active  operations  from  the  fields  of  actual  labor  to  the  pavement 
and  shops  of  Montgomery  street. '  '33  Then  followed  a  period  of 
riotous  speculation.  Two  hundred  and  ten  companies  were 
formed  in  1861  and  1862,  with  capital  stock  of  $230.000,000.34 
Men  and  women  of  all  degrees  made  haste  to  invest  their  savings 
in  mining  stock  of  companies,  most  of  whose  holdings  were  worth- 
less. In  1864  came  a  great  panic  in  these  stocks  and  the  "name 
of  Washoe,  which  had  once  been  blessed,  was  now  accursed  by 
the  multitude,  though  still  a  source  of  profit  to  the  few/'35  The 
mines  of  the  northern  interior,  however,  were  not  greatly  af- 
fected by  this  excess  of  speculation  or  its  reaction,  except  that 
development  was  somewhat  retarded  by  the  latter. 

This  tendency  towards  employment  of  capital  in  combinations. 
which  is  discernible  in  these  remote  mining  communities  which 
we  are  studying,  was  apparent  in  Australia  also  and,  indeed,  in 


30  In    San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Nov.   20,   1860. 

31  JUd. 

"  Mining  &  Scientific  Press,  Jan.  7,  1865,  p.  8. 
**  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  July  6,  1864. 

**  Id.  Jan.  6,  1803.     Mineral  Resources,   (p.  30)    places  the  whole  number  of 
companies  at  3,000,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $1,000,000,000. 
"Mineral  Resources,  1867,  p.  31. 


[235] 


100 


BULLETIN7  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


all  Anglo-Saxon  mining  localities.36  Moreover,  the  period  of  the 
Civil  War  was  marked  in  the  eastern  United  States  by  the  com- 
bining of  capital  and  the  forming  of  corporations  on  a  scale  be- 
fore unachieved.37  The  development  of  mining  methods  in  the 
camps  of  the  Inland  Empire,  therefore,  in  their  progression  from 
the  simple  and  hasty  methods  of  the  placer  miner  to  the  compli- 
cated and  stable  processes  of  the  capitalist  and  the  scientist, 
shared  in  the  evolution  going  on  in  Washoe,  California,  Aus- 
tralia, and  the  whole  United  States. 


36  See  on  this  wide  change  in  the  precious  metal  industry  an  interesting  ar- 
ticle on  Gold  Mining  and  the  Gold  Discoveries  made  since  1851,  in  The  Mining 
and  Smelting  Magazine,  (London),  Vol.  I,  pp.  392-401. 

»T  Fite,  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  During   the  Civil  War,  Chap.  VI. 


[236] 


TR IMBLE — MINING  ADVANCE 


101 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  PRODUCT  AND  ITS  UTILIZATION 

In  considering  the  product  of  the  labor  and  capital  expended 
in  the  Mining  Advance,  one  naturally  inquires  what  was  the 
amount  of  the  total  product. 

This  question  is  one  extremely  difficult  to  answer  at  all  and, 
indeed,  impossible  to  answer  with  entirely  satisfactory  precision. 
In  British  Columbia  with  its  more  ordered  administration  we 
can  feel  more  sure  of  arriving  at  nearer  approximation  to  accu- 
racy than  in  the  territories  to  the  south,  where,  until  1867,  there 
was  no  governmental  attempt  to  gather  statistics.  Of  course  one 
meets  all  sorts  of  statements  in  the  literature  of  the  time,  given 
with  great  confidence ;  but  such  statements  often  originated  with 
parties  interested  in  exaggerating  yields — claim  owners  desirous 
of  selling  out,  local  editors  who  wished  for  larger  subscription 
lists,  merchants,  packers,  steamboat  men,  and  even  express  com- 
panies.1 The  last,  and  especially  Wells,  Fargo  &  Company, 
were,  however,  a  source  of  information  considered  fairly  reliable. 
There  were  earnest  efforts  made,  it  is  true,  to  arrive  at  right 
estimates,  and  of  these  special  value  attaches  to  the  careful  an- 
nual reviews  of  the  San  Francisco  Bulletin;  but  here  again  vague- 
ness arises  from  the  fact  that  much  of  the  dust  shipped  to  Cali- 
fornia was  merged  in  statistics  with  the  California  product,  and 
that  very  considerable  amounts  were  shipped  out  of  the  northern 
regions  by  way  of  Salt  Lake  and  the  Missouri  River  of  which  the 
Bulletin  made  little  account.  Moreover,  in  estimating  product, 


1  "The  seeker  of  truth  will  not  easily  find  a  more  thankless  field  of  investiga- 
tion than  a  mining  country.  Tor  it  verily  appears  that  however  truthful  men 
have  previously  been,  self-interest  seems  to  make  them  systematic  liars  as  soon 
as  they  become  interested  in  gold  mines."  Letter  from  Pike's  Peak  Region, 
San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Oct.  1,  1860.  In  support  of  the  untrustworthiness 
of  mining  statistics,  see  Del  Mar,  History  of  the  Precious  Metals,  pp.  401-406. 
For  other  side  see  Mineral  Resources,  1868,  p.  5. 

[237] 


102  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY   OF  WISCONSIN 

variation  in  the  value  of  gold  dust  must  be  taken  into  the  ac- 
count, a  variation  ranging  from  gold  of  Owyhee  worth  twelve  dol- 
lars per  ounce  to  that  from  Kootenai  worth  eighteen.  Again, 
there  was  not  a  little  counterfeiting  of  gold  dust,  against  which 
laws  were  enacted  in  the  Colony  and  the  Territories.  The  Chi- 
nese were  charged  with  adeptness  in  this  practice  in  British 
Columbia;  and  in  southern  Idaho  the  matter  became  so  serious 
as  to  impair  the  welfare  of  laborers  and  lead  to  meetings  of  mer- 
chants for  fixing  prices  of  debased  dust.  Hence,  many  factors 
must  be  taken  into  account  and  many  sources  drawn  upon,  in 
order  to  arrive  at  an  approach  to  accuracy  in  estimating  the 
product  of  the  mining  regions  which  we  are  studying. 

We  have,  however,  two  series  of  estimates,  which,  after  study 
of  various  reviews  and  collecting  of  fugitive  notices,  I  have  come 
to  believe  well  within  the  truth.  The  one  for  British  Columbia 
is  by  Mr.  George  M.  Dawson,  who  was  helped  in  his  compilation 
by  the  Provincial  Department  of  Mines ;  the  other  by  Mr.  J.  Boss 
Browne,  United  States  Commissioner  for  the  mining  regions  west 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  who  drew  from  a  great  number  of  as- 
sistants and  informants.  Mr.  Dawson 's  estimate  for  British  Co- 
Jumbia  is  as  follows : 

1858 $705 , 000 

1859  •    1,615,000 

1860 2 , 228 , 000 

1861  2,666,000 

1862  2 , 856 , 000 

1863  3 , 913 , 000 

1864 3 , 735 , 000 

1865  >...    3,491,000 

1866  2 , 622 , 000 

1867  .  2 , 480 , 000 


Total $26,110,000' 

Mr.  Browne  summarized  the  yields  in  the  American  fields  from 
the  beginning  of  their  working  to  the  close  of  1867  as  follows : 

Washington     $10,000,000 

Oregon     20 , 000 , 000 

Idaho 45 , 000 , 000 

Montana    .                         65,000,000 


Total    $140, 000, 000s 


2  Geol.  Sur.  of  Can.  1887,  1888.     Rpt,  p.  23  R. 

3  Mineral  Resources,  1868,  p.  6. 


[238] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  103 

Part  of  the  Oregon  yield,  however,  belongs  to  western  Oregon, 
but  it  would  probably  be  safe  to  credit  eastern  Oregon  with 
$10,000,000.  Deducting  this  amount  from  the  total,  we  have 
$130,000,000.  Adding  now,  the  yield  of  British  Columbia  we 
have  a  grand  total  of  $156,111,000  as  the  product  of  these  north- 
ern interior  mines  in  a  decade,  the  average  being  at  least 
$15,000,000  per  annum.4 

Rightly  to  value  this  production,  moreover,  one  should  consider 
that  it  was  nearly  all  surplus.  In  agricultural  communities,  es- 
pecially in  their  earlier  stages,  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
product  is  consumed  by  the  producer  or  his  family,  and  com- 
paratively little,  particularly  at  first,  left  as  surplus;  and  it  is 
mainly  the  surplus,  of  course,  that  brings  into  being  trade  and 
means  of  transportation  and  most  of  the  instruments  and  ap- 
purtenances of  civilization.  In  mining  communities  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  product  must  necessarily  be  practically  all  surplus, 
and  a  surplus,  moreover,  in  such  form  as  to  be  readily  transmut- 
able  into  the  various  commodities  and  activities  of  civilized  life. 
Gold  dust  circulated  as  money.  Each  merchant  had  his  scales 
and  every  miner  carried  his  pouch,  from  the  contents  of  which 
he  bought  his  food,  clothing,  tools,  newspaper,  and  drink;  paid 
his  postage,  express  charges  and  fares;  attended  the  theatre 
or  the  hurdy-gurdy,  perchance  gambled,  remunerated  his 
lawyer  in  litigation,  paid  his  taxes,  or  bestowed  his  contribu- 
tions at  church.5  Civilization  sprang  forth  full-panoplied.  Mer- 
chants came  rushing  in ;  buildings  were  erected  and  towns  sprang 
up;  newspapers  were  established;  lawyers,  dentists,  and  doctors 


4  It  seems  to  the  writer  that  these  gentlemen,  in  reaction   against  exaggera- 
tion, arrived  at   estimates  somewhat  too  low.     In  support  of  this  criticism  it 
may  be  noticed  that  Mr.   O'Reilly,  Commissioner  at  Cariboo,  a  very  careful  and 
reliable  observer,  places  the  yield  of  that  district,  north  of  Quesnelle  River,  for 
1863   at   $3,904,000,    (Supra,    p.   42),    whereas   Mr.   Dawson's    estimate   for   the 
whole  of  British   Columbia  for  that  year  is   $3,913,563;   surely   the  aggregate 
yield  of  the  numerous  scattered  bars  and  camps  of  British  Columbia,  outside  of 
Cariboo,   was  for  that  year  more   than   $9,563.     Cf.   also  totals   of  $2,500,000, 
shipped  from  Portland  in  1861,  practically  all  from  the  Nez  Perec's  Mines,  Or. 
His.  Quar.  Sept.  1908,  pp.  289-90. 

5  While  it  is  true  that  gold  dust  readily  circulated  as  money,  still  there  was 
considerable  loss  In  exchange,  and  some  cheating.     Consequently,   there  was  a 
distinct   demand   for   coin.     Transmission   to   San   Francisco,    however,    was   at- 
tended by  heavy  charges  ;  and  so  in  British  Columbia  Governor  Douglas  ordered 
coinage  of  ten  and  twenty  dollar  gold  pieces,  and  in  the  Territories  there  was 
insistent  demand  for  local  mint,  which  was  finally  established  at  Boise. 


[239] 


104  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  Off  WISCONSIN 

hung  out  their  signs ;  churches  and  schools  were  projected  and  in 
many  cases  erected ;  transportation  thrilled  from  the  pack  trail, 
the  stagecoach,  the  steamboat,  through  the  railroads  of  the  east 
and  the  ocean  routes  of  the  west,  clear  to  New  York  and  London. 
Jt  is  this  aspect  of  the  mining  advance  (often  overlooked  now-a- 
days  as  we  look  back  over  the  slow  progress  of  mining  communi- 
ties after  the  first  flush  years)  which  gives  it  an  intensity,  a 
vitality,  a  compellingness  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  actual  num- 
bers of  population  participating.  This  conception  of  radiating 
economic  intensity  is  basic  in  the  just  gauging  in  history  of  a 
great  mining  movement,  or  in  understanding  society  built  upon 
such  a  movement. 

A  comparison  with  the  amount  of  surplus  product  of  some  agri- 
cultural regions  will  help  us  to  understand  the  true  significance 
of  an  average  annual  surplus  of  $15,000,000  in  the  first  decade 
of  civilized  occupation  of  the  Inland  Empire.  Kentucky  in  1832, 
two  generations  after  its  settlement,  produced  an  estimated  sur- 
plus of  $5,250,000,  Ohio,  about  1834,  $10,000,000  and  Tennessee 
in  the  same  year,  $6,120,000.  The  surplus  of  the  whole  Missis- 
sippi-Ohio valley  was  estimated  in  the  latter  year  at  $30,000,000.6 
The  two  states,  accordingly,  which  produced  a  surplus  available 
for  stimulation  of  commerce  approximately  equal  in  amount  to 
the  average  annual  surplus  of  the  Inland  Empire,  1858-1867, 
(viz.,  Ohio  and  Kentucky)  had  in  1830  a  combined  population 
of  over  a  million  and  a  half ;  the  entire  population  of  the  Inland 
Empire,  white  and  Chinese,  in  1867  was  less  than  100,000.7  The 
comparatively  small  population  of  a  mining  region,  therefore, 
because  of  the  availability  of  its  product  as  surplus  may  produce 
an  effect  on  commerce  and  transportation,  for  the  time  being, 
equal  to  that  of  a  much  greater  agricultural  population.8 

The  production  of  so  large  a  surplus,  of  immediate  availability 
by  so  small  a  population,  helps  us  to  understand  the  largeness  of 


6  These  figures  are  from  Pitkin,  Statistics  for  1835,  p.  534,  536. 

7  Ohio,  937  +  thousand,  Kentucky,  687  +  thousand,  Rpt.  of  Twelfth  Censut. 
Pop.  Vol.  I;  British  Columbia,  13800.    (1866),  Despatch  of  Governor  Seymour, 
Feb.   17,    1866,    in   Churchill   and   Cooper,   Br.    Col.   &    Van   Id.;    Idaho,    21725, 
Mineral  Resources,  1868,  p.   512;  Montana  about  32,000,  Id.,  p.  487;   counties 
of  eastern  Wash.  4170,  id.  p.  565-7 ;  counties  of  eastern  Oregon  not  over  10,000, 
id.  576-7. 

•Mining  society,   moreover,   becomes  highly  functionalized  more  quickly  than 
that  of  agricultural  regions. 

[240] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  105 

immigration  to  the  mining  regions  from  the  eastern  states,  from 
Canada,  and  from  England.  A  man's  chances  were  better  in 
the  mining  regions.  When  common  labor  in  the  East  was  paid 
$1  to  $1.25  per  day  in  depreciated  greenbacks,  $5  to  $10  a  day 
in  gold — and  the  chance  of  making  much  more — loomed  large. 
There  was  at  this  period  great  labor  discontent  in  the  East  due 
to  the  high  prices  of  commodities,  paid  in  paper  currency,  such 
prices  unaccompanied  by  proportionate  increase  of  wages." 
Even  in  California  a  skilled  miner  could  make  not  more  than 
$3.50  to  $4  per  day.10  Men  at  a  distance  (particularly  if  un- 
acquainted with  mining  localities)  overlooked  the  high  prices 
and  discomforts  of  mining  .camps — a  fact  peculiarly  true  of  the 
general  run  of  immigrants  from  England.  After  all,  moreover, 
the  average  annual  earnings  may  not  have  been  so  high  as  they 
seemed.  Dawson  computes  that  the  average  annual  earnings  of 
miners  in  British  Columbia  (1858-68)  was  slightly  under  $700, 
but  his  computation  does  not  take  account  of  the  exchange  of 
product  for  labor  in  the  mines.11  But  mainly  it  was  the  chance 
at  the  great  prizes,  the  chance  to  make  a  fortune  in  a  few  months, 
that  drew  men  feverishly  on.  There  were  many  cases  where 
men  within  a  year  or  two  cleared  from  $2,000  to  $100,000,  and, 
when  we  reflect  on  how  such  sums  now  are  regarded  by  the  aver- 
age laboring  or  professional  man,  we  can  see  what  it  meant  to  the 
ordinary  man  in  the  sixties.  To  the  poor  man  the  mines  held 
out  the  hope  of  a  competency. 

If  we  inquire,  however,  what  were  the  total  net  profits  in  the 
production  of  the  surplus  above  discussed,  after  the  deduction  of 
money  brought  into  the  country,  that  is  a  question  impossible  to 
answer.  The  charge  was  often  made,  with  regard  to  any  particu- 
lar mining  community  (a  charge  oftenest  made  by  some  older 
community  which  was  losing  population)  that  there  really  was 
no  net  profit,  or  a  positive  loss.  We  may  observe,  however,  that 
even  if  this  were  true,  the  stimulus  to  business  and  the  impulse 
to  various  forms  of  social  activity  were  not  therefore  the  less  in- 
tense, although,  perhaps,  accompanied  with  loss  to  many  indi- 


9  Fite,  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  during  the  Civil  War,  Chap.  VII. 
10 Wages  in  1867  were  $2.-$3.50  per  day;  Mineral  Resources,  1867,  p.  21. 
11  Oeol.  Survey  of  Canada,  1887-8,  Rpt.  p.  23R. 

[241] 


106  BULLETIN   OF  TFIE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

viduals.  Moreover,  besides  investments  in  mining  improvements 
directly,  as  ditches,  mills  etc.,  much  both  of  the  money  brought 
into  a  country  and  of  the  surplus  produced  was  invested  in  vari- 
ous permanent  forms  of  capital,  such  as  the  opening  up  of  farms, 
the  building  up  of  towns  and  communities,  and  the  capitilization 
of  trade  and  transportation.12 

One  of  the  most  important  permanent  improvements,  attribut- 
able largely  to  the  precious  metal  product,  was  the  development 
of  agriculture.  Prices  for  all  sorts  of  provisions  were  very  high 
in  the  mines,  and  at  the  towns  and  stations  on  the  way  thither, 
and  this  was  particularly  true  with  regard  to  butter,  milk,  fresh 
vegetables,  etc. — after  a  man  had  lived  for  weeks  on  bacon,  bread 
and  coffee,  he  would  give  almost  any  price  for  the  tonic  of  butter 
and  vegetables.  The  economic  inducement  of  high  prices  was 
needed  in  order  to  settle  remote  valleys,  which,  but  for  the  mines, 
would  have  waited  long  for  settlers.  As  it  was,  agricultural 
activity  was  conspicuous  both  north  and  south  of  the  Line.13 

In  the  mining  regions  south  of  the  Line  the  most  noticeable 
agricultural  activity  occurred  in  the  Walla  Walla,  Grande  Ronde, 
Payette,  Boise,  and  Gallatin  valleys.  Cattlemen  and  farmers 
had  begun  to  enter  the  Walla  Walla  valley  before  1860,  and  the 
census  of  that  year  showed  a  population  in  the  county  of  1,318. 
In  1866  it  was  estimated  by  The  Statesman  that  555,000  bushels 
of  wheat  had  been  raised  in  that  year  and  250,000  bushels  of  oats ; 
flour  was  beginning  to  be  exported  from  Walla  Walla  to  San 
Francisco  (there  were  six  mills  in  the  valley),  and  in  June  1867 


13  The  charge  that  ."more  money  and  labor  has  been  spent  to  get  out  the  gold 
than  it  was  worth"  was  especially  prominent  in  the  case  of  British  Columbia 
immediately  after  the  Fraser  River  rush.  In  meeting  it  a  defender  of  the 
Colony  specified  the  following  valuations,  although  less  than  a  year  had  elapsed 
since  the  beginning  of  the  rush  : 

Stock  of  goods  on  hand  Nov.  1,  1858,    $250,000. 

Real   estate   in   Victoria,    one   thousand   town   lots   at   $100   each,    cost 

price,    100,000. 

Two  hundred  more  valuable  lots  together  with  all  the  property  sold  here 

or  at  Esquimault,  present  value,  $200,000 500,000. 

Wharves,  new  buildings  and  other  improvements  in  Victoria 400,000. 

Buildings  in  the  interior,  all  other  improvements  having  been  made  at 

government  expense    50,000. 

Waddington,  Alfred,  Fraser  Mines  Vindicated,  pp.  4  &  5. 

13  In  localities  of  scanty  rainfall  it  was  an  easy  transition  from  miners 
ditches  to  irrigation  ditches. 

[242] 


TRIMBLL— -MIXIXG  ADVANCE  107 

five  hundred  tons  were  shipped  out.1*  The  settlement  of  the 
Grande  Ronde  valley  started  in  1861,  and  by  1866  it  was  produc- 
ing almost  as  much  as  Walla  Walla.15  In  Boise  City  visitors 
were  astonished  at  the  fine  vegetables  that  came  from  the  Boise 
valley  and  from  the  Payette.  The  settlement  of  the  Gallatin 
valley,  which  began  in  1863  and  in  which  John  M.  Bozeman  was 
prominent,  was  of  unique  importance  in  that  it  led  to  the  attempt 
to  open  a  celebrated  road,  the  Bozeman  cut-off,  through  the  heart 
of  the  Sioux  hunting  grounds  to  Ft.  Laramie.16  In  other  val- 
leys, also, — as  the  Powder  River,  the  Bitter  Root,  and  the  Col- 
ville, — agriculture  was  enabled  to  get  a  secure  foothold.  Conse- 
quentl}',  when  the  trying  time  of  decline  of  placer  mining  came, 
the  territories  were  enabled  to  live  through,  and  commodities 
were  furnished  for  outward  transportation. 

The  stock  business  flourished  even  more  than  farming.  While 
stock  raising  had  long  been  pursued  in  the  Willamette  valley 
and  had  begun  in  the  upper  country  a  few  years  before  the  min- 
ing period,  nevertheless,  it  is  from  this  time  that  the  stock  raising 
in  both  regions  begins  as  a  distinctly  important  business.17  Many 
cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  were  shipped  from  Oregon  to  British 
Columbia ;  in  1861  there  were  imported  into  Victoria  alone  7,081 
'head  of  cattle  valued  at  $313,797,  most  of  them  from  Oregon.18 
t  The  tlepiity  collector  of  customs  at  Little  t)alles,  on  the  Columbia, 
reported  that  in  1866  there  had  been  shipped  through  that  point 
from  Oregon  and  Washington  Territories  2,754  head  of  sheep, 
2,265  beef  cattle,  483  horses,  43  mules,  1,132  pack  animals,  and 
264  saddle  horses,— the  total  valuation  being  $348,292.19  The 


"Mineral  Resources,   1868,   p.   580. 

15Jas.  Veazey  wrote  from  Walla  Walla  to  the  Oregonian,  Aug.  31,  1SG1,  that 
there  was  room  for  1,200  good  farmers  in  the  Grande  Ronde  and  added  in 
characteristic  American  fashion :  "I  want  a  claim  there  and  I  am  going  to 
have  one,  for  its  the  prettiest  country  I  ever  saw."  A  few  weeks  later  15 
emigrant  families  began  making  homes  there.  Oregonian,  Sept.  28,  1861.  See 
also  Idaho  World,  Oct.  13,  1866. 

18  Historical  Sketch  of  Bozeman,  Gallatin  Valley  and  Bozeman  Pass,  by  Peter 
Koch,  Contr.  His.  f?oc.  Mont.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  126-139. 

17  I  am  confirmed   in  this  view  by  the  observations  of  Hon.  C.  B.  Bagley,  of 
Seattle. 

18  Barret-Lennard,  Travels  in  British  Columbia,  p.  282. 

19  Mineral  Resources  1868,  p.  559.     These  figures  are  probably  exceptional  for 
this  point  since  in  18G6  the  movement  to  the  Upper  Columbia  was  in  progress, 
but  they  may  be   taken  as  fairly  representative  of  numbers  generally  crossing 
the  border. 

[243] 


108  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

mines  in  the  interior  south,  of  the  Line  furnished  a  market  not 
only  for  the  stockmen  of  Walla  Walla,  but  also  of  the  Willamette. 
Some  idea  of  the  importance  of  the  stock  business  in  the  Walla 
Walla  valley  may  be  derived  from  the  estimate  that  5,000  head  of 
cattle  were  driven  to  the  mines  in  1866  and  that  stockmen  still 
held  6,500  head ;  in  addition  1,500  horses  were  sold  to  persons  en- 
route  to  the  mines  and  6,000  mules  were  used  in  packing  and 
freighting.20  In  1868,  from  March  1st  to  July  15th  there  were 
shipped  on  steamboats  from  Portland  to  The  Dalles,  12,191  head 
of  cattle  and  horses,  6,283  head  of  sheep  and  1,594  head  of  hogs, 
and  it  was  thought  that  an  equal  number  during  the  summer 
had  been  driven  across  the  Cascade  Mountains.21  This  stimula- 
tion of  the  cattle  business  contributed  to  agricultural  settlement ; 
for  stockmen  soon  began  to  turn  to  the  vast  bunch-grass  plateaus, 
and  from  the  stock  business  the  transition  was  made  in  the  sev- 
enties and  eighties  to  the  great  wheat  production  of  the  present; 
day. 

The  beginnings  of  agriculture  in  British  Columbia  in  connec- 
tion with  the  mining  advance  present  some  interesting  features. 
Here  too,  all  along  the  roads  leading  to  the  mines,  particularly  in 
the  upper  country,  farms  were  opened  up.22  This  development! 
was  noted  with  great  interest  in  England,  where  it  was  thought' 
that  the  climate  and  soil  of  British  Columbia  were  such  as  to 
make  that  colony  peculiarly  fit  for  immigration  of  the  poorer 
population  of  the  mother  country.  One  of  the  things  that  is  dis- 
tinctly noticeable  in  the  books  published  in  England  during  this1 
period  concerning  British  Columbia  is  the  background  of  distress 
at  home  and  the  desire  to  relieve  this  distress.  All  of  these  books, 
therefore,  (and  they  were  quite  numerous)  devote  considerable 
space  to  the  discussion  of  the  agricultural  possibilities  of  British 
Columbia  and  the  advisability  of  people  from  Britain  emigrating 
thither. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  aspect  of  the  starting  of  agricul- 


20  Walla  Walla  Statesman,  quoted  in  Idaho  World,  Dec.  15,  1866. 

n  Mineral  Resources,  1868,  p.  580. 

22  Mr.  Davidson,  near  Pavilion,  had  175  acres  under  cultivation.  Another 
farmer  drove  thirty  head  of  milch  cows  into  Cariboo  and  netted  $75.00  per  day 
from  them  for  four  months.  Packers  wintered  their  stock  in  the  valleys  of 
the  Thompson  and  Bonaparte.  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  pp.  284-292. 


[2441 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  109 

ture  in  British  Columbia,  however,  from  the  point  of  view  of  our 
[study,  is  the  method  of  the  disposal  of  the  public  lands.  In 
working  out  a  method  there  were  some  comparisons  instituted 
with  other  English  colonies,  particularly  with  Canada,  but  the 
most  decisive  formative  influence  was  competition  with  and  imi- 
tation of  the  land  system  of  the  United  States.23  At  first  in 
British  Columbia  there  was  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  hold  land  at  comparatively  high  prices,  to  sell  it  at 
auction,  and  to  require  that  only  surveyed  lands  be  sold.  Lytton 
believed  in  a  high  upset  price,  "but",  he  wrote,  "your  course 
must  in  some  degree  be  guided  by  the  price  at  which  such  land 
is  selling  in  neighboring  American  communities."24  The  price 
was  set  at  first  at  ten  shillings  ($2.50)  per  acre,  and  "squatting" 
was  not  to  be  tolerated — it  was  outside  of  law  and  not  British.25 
The  same  policy,  in  general,  was  followed  in  Vancouver  Island. 

Against  this  policy  discontent  and  opposition  began  to  develop. 
The  petition  of  a  public  meeting  held  at  Victoria,  July  2,  1859, 
reads  as  follows:  [The  petitioners]  "having  viewed  with  alarm 
the  departure  of  many  of  Her  Majesty's  loyal  subjects  and  others 
from  this  colony  to  the  neighboring  republic ;  and  having  learned 
that  their  departure  has  been  induced  by  the  difficulty  of  obtain- 
ing agricultural  lands  at  once,  on  application,  and  by  not  being 
obtainable  on  such  terms  as  would  afford  equal  encouragement 
to  actual  settlers  in  this  colony  as  are  offered  in  the  neighboring 
republic ;  believing  that  we  shall  lose  many  more,  and  that  except 
the  land  system  of  the  colony  is  materially  modified,  the  pros- 
perity and  settlement  of  the  country  will  be  seriously  retarded, 
petition : 

a.  That  Crown  lands  of  this  Colony  may  be  opened  at  once  to 
actual  settlers ; 

b.  That  a  preference  may  be  given  to  them  in  the  choice  of  the 
public  lands,  surveyed  or  unsurveyed,  over  capitalists; 


28  It  will  not  be  overlooked  that  the  public  lands  in  the  colony  of  British' 
Columbia,  unlike  those  of  the  United  States,  were  under  the  control  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  colony  and  were  not  administered  by  the  Imperial  government. 

"*  Papers   relating  to  British  Columbia,  I,  49. 

25  O.  T.  Travaillot  was  appointed  Assistant  Commissioner  of  Crown  Lands  in 
1858,  "for  protecting  the  Crown  Lands  of  the  Couteau  and  Eraser  River  Dis- 
tricts from  encroachment,  intrusion  and  trespass." — Douglas,  Miscl  Letters  MS 
July  13,  1S5S. 

[245] 


HO  BULLETIN   OF   THE   UNIVERSITY   OK   WISCONSIN 

c.  That  they  may^  be  secured  in  a  preemptive  right ; 

d.  That  the  highest  price  to  actual  settlers  may  not  exceed 
$1.25  per  acre,  or  such  price  as  will  barely  cover  the  expenses  of 
survey. ' J2G     Another  meeting  at  Victoria  on  Aug.  22,  1859,  placed 
among  its  resolutions  the  following  clause :     *  *  That  the  practice 
of  making  the  public  lands  a  source  of  revenue  is  unwise  and  im- 
politic; that  instead  of  attracting  to,  it  repels  population  from 
the  country;  and  that  the  better  policy,  grounded  on  the  ex- 
perience of  new  countries,  is  to  donate  the  public  domain  to  bona 
fide  settlers  rather  than  exact  a  high  price  with  a  view  to  revenue  ; 
that  the  taxable  property  of  a  country  whose  land  system  is  lib- 
eral so  rapidly  increases  that  it  soon  yields  a  revenue  which  far 
exceeds  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  land  at  any  price. '  '27 

The  attitud.e  of  Governor  Douglas,  perhaps  because  of  the 
pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  him,  underwent  a  change  in  the 
two  years  from  1858-60.  At  first  on  application  for  preemptions 
he  refused  them,  quite  properly,  on  the  ground  of  lack  of  au- 
thority.28 Later  (in  1858)  he  allowed  town  lots  to  be  leased  at 
Yale,  Hope,  and  Port  Douglas,  under  the  conditions  of  right  of 
resumption  by  the  Crown,  a  rental  of  $10  per  month  (payable  in 
advance),  and  with  a  preemption  right  in  the  lessee  at  an  upset 
price  of  $100,  the  monthly  rent  to  be  reckoned  as  part  of  the  pur- 
chase money.29  A  letter  of  the  Governor  from  Ft.  Hope  in  the 
fall  of  1859  forecasts  a  general  preemption  law:  he  wrote  that 
there  was  a  very  general  inquiry  for  rural  lands  and  that  the  gen- 
eral impression  had  gotten  abroad,  "which  I  am  altogether  at  a 
loss  to  account  for ' ',  that  the  Government  was  not  willing  to  sell 
land ;  he  caused  the  registry  of  applications  for  1,500  acres  and 
proposed  to  "  authorize  applicants  to  enter  on  land  without  de- 


» McDonald,  British  Columbia  and  Van.  Id.  P.  217.  This  meeting  may  have 
been  inspired  partially  by  hostility  to  Governor  Douglas.  McDonald  himself  wag 
a  bitter  critic  of  Douglas.  On  the  other  hand,  he  shows  great  perspicuity  in 
the  discussion  of  the  land  system  and  reveals  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
land  systems  of  the  United  States  and  of  Canada.  In  commenting  on  that  of  the 
United  States  he  says  that  "it  has  done  more  towards  the  promotion  of  settle- 
ments and  the  development  of  their  agricultural  resources,  than  all  other 
causes  combined."  (p.  58)  Fie  noted  also  the  passage  of  the  American  home- 
stead law.  His  book  was  published  in  1863. 

27  Id.,  p.  349. 

28  Diary  of  Gold  Discovery   on  Fraser's  River,  MS.  May  24,   1858. 
2»  Douglas  to  Moody,  Miscl.  Letters,  I,  MS.  p.  222. 

[246] 


TRIMBLE— MIXING   ADVANCE  111 

lay  and  make  improvements ' ' ;  payments  of  land,  where  surveyed, 
were  to  be  at  the  rate  of  ten  shillings  per  acre.30 

Finally,  on  Jan.  4,  1860,  came  the  preemption  proclamation. 
According  to  its  terms  British  subjects  and  aliens  who  took  the 
oath  of  allegiance  could  "  acquire  unoccupied,  and  unreserved, 
and  unsurveyed  Crown  land  in  British  Columbia,  (not  being  the 
site  of  an  existent  or  proposed  town,  or  auriferous  land  available 
for  mining  purposes,  or  an  Indian  Reserve  or  settlement),  in  fee 
simple. ' '  The  conditions  were  that  the  claim  be  of  160  acres,  of 
rectangular  form,  that  it  be  marked  by  four  posts  and  that  it 
should  be  recorded ;  that  the  occupation  of  the  land  be  continuous 
and  that  improvements  to  the  value  of  ten  shillings  per  acre  be 
made;  and  that  road,  mineral,  and  ditch  rights  be  reserved.81 
The  price  was  not  to  be  in  excess  of  ten  shillings  per  acre,  this 
statement  showing  the  liberalizing  advance  over  the  attitude  of  a 
few  months  previous.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  price  was  finally 
set  at  4s.  2d  per  acre.32  Thus  we  see  that  in  the  first  stage  of 
the  administration  of  the  lands  of  British  Columbia  the  land  sys- 
tem was  perforce  conformed  to  that  of  the  United  States. 

Another  permanent  form  in  which  the  mining  surplus  mani- 
fested itself  was  in  the  upbuilding  of  towns  and  communities. 

In  the  interior  of  the  American  territories  there  were  founded 
in  five  years  Walla  Walla,  Lewiston,  Boise,  Virgina  City,  Helena, 
and  a  score  of  smaller  centers.  The  Dalles  became  a  thriving 
entrepot.33  In  British  Columbia  there  were  Hope,  Yale,  Doug- 
las, Lillooet,  Lytton,  Barkerville,  and  others  of  less  importance.34 
The  population  of  these  towns,  in  numbers  varying  from  a  few 
score  to  perhaps  ten  thousand  as  the  extreme  limit  in  flush  times, 
appears,  in  comparison  with  that  of  eastern  towns,  of  little  im- 
portance. But  anyone  familiar  with  frontier  conditions  knows 


10  Douglas  to  Moody,   Correspondence  Book,  MS.   Sept.  20,  1859. 

31  McDonald,  Van  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  pp.  205-209. 

32  Id.  p.  214. 

83  The  Dalles,  "key  to  the  upper  country",  in  1862  had  about  1000  population. 
San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Nov.  13,  1862. 

"Concerning  Lytton  Douglas  wrote  to  Travaillot  that  the  town  "lately 
founded  at  the  Forks  of  Thompson  River  should  be  named  after  the  present 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  a  gentleman  distinguished  alike  as  a  brilliant 
writer,  a  profound  statesman,  and  a  warm  and  energetic  friend  of  British 
Columbia".  Miscl.  Letters,  MS.  I,  35,  Nov.  10,  1858. 


[247] 


112  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

that  such  outposts  of  civilization  are  of  many  fold  more  conse- 
quence than  villages  of  like  size  in  the  East.  They  became  out- 
fitting posts  for  vast  regions  and  their  trade  was  out  of  all  pro- 
portion to  their  size;  from  them  went  forth  prospectors,  mer- 
chants, packers,  stock  men,  travelers — all  the  assailants  and 
viewers  of  the  wilderness — and  to  them  from  time  to  time  they 
returned.  Such  frontier  towns  were  ganglia  of  civilization,  com- 
parable to  Roman  colonies.  Moreover,  in  the  period  to  come, 
when  railroads  were  to  be  projected  and  built,  the  existence  of 
such  communities  was  of  very  considerable  moment.35 

Of  the  Coast  communities,  the  towns  of  Puget  Sound  were  less 
directly  in  the  path  of  the  mining  advance  than  were  those  of  the 
Fraser  and  Columbia;  consequently  the  Sound  region  was  of 
relatively  lesser  importance  during  the  mining  decade.  Never- 
theless, it  was  greatly  interested  in  the  mining  advance  and  drew 
from  it  a  measure  of  prosperity.  Governmentally,  in  particular, 
as  the  mining  regions  developed  before  the  formation  of  Idaho, 
the  Sound  regions  of  Washington  began  to  fear  that  they  would 
be  outvoted  in  the  legislature  by  the  representatives  from  the 
eastern  parts  of  the  States.  But  in  material  prosperity,  also,  the 
effects  of  the  mining  advance  were  plainly  in  evidence.  The 
Fraser  River  movement  especially  benefited  the  Sound.  "The 
gold  excitement  has  not  been  without  a  good  result,"  said  the 
Puget  Sound  Herald,  "so  far  as  the  Territory  at  large  is  con- 
cerned. If  we  may  judge  of  other  towns  and  counties  by  our 
own  [Steilacoom],  there  must  certainly  have  been,  in  the  aggre- 
gate, a  large  accession  of  wealth  and  population —  we  mean  a 
permanent,  not  a  transient  accession.  ...  A  few  short 
months  ago  no  mechanical  business  of  any  kind,  save  carpenter- 
ing and  blacksmithiiig,  was  carried  on  here,  now  there  are  some 
half  dozen  workshops.  Six  months  ago  there  was  not  a  single 
light  pleasure  vehicle  of  any  description,  although  our  roads  are 
of  the  best.  Now  there  are  six  or  eight,  together  with  a  couple 
of  express  wragoiis  recently  purchased  in  Victoria. '  '38  Not  only 
many  miners  who  came  during  the  Fraser  River  rush,  but  also 


»BOa  this  point  consult  Smalley,  E.  V.,  History  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Rail- 
road, p.  181. 

86  Pufjet  Sound  Herald,  Sept.  24th,  1858. 


[248] 


TRIMBLE— MIXING  ADVANCE 


Hi 


some  who  from  time  to  time  arrived  during  the  after  course  of 
the  mining  advance,  took  a  liking  to  the  Sound  country,  settled 
down  and  became  valuable  citizens.37  Thus  in  general  effect  a 
mining  rush  in  a  way,  like  an  exposition,  served  to  make  a  region 
known  and  to  bring  in  settlers.3* 

New  Westminster,  the  capital  of  British  Columbia  was  founded 
by  governmental  fiat  in  1859,  and  emerged  rapidly  from  the 
great  primeval  forest  into  a  busy  town  on  a  noble  site.  In  1861 
its  imports  amounted  to  $1,  414,  000,  in  1862,  $2,800,000,  and  in 
1863,  $2,109,000.39  Still,  New  Westminster  was  by  no  means  con- 
tent. She  felt  that  the  commercial  element  in  Victoria  was 
fattening  on  British  Columbia  trade  which  belonged  rightfully 
to  her.  Other  measures  and  grievances  were  thus  formulated  by 
the  British  Columbian:  (a)  A  resident  governor  and  responsible 
government;  (b)  Improvement  in  the  navigation  of  the  Fraser 
Eiver;  (c)  Early  survey  of  the  public  lands;  (d)  A  system  by 
which  miners  could  make  local  laws;  (e)  An  export  duty  on 
gold.40  The  latter  measure  was  especially  desired  in  order  to 
decrease  the  tariff  duties,  with  a  view  to  eliminating  Victoria  as 
much  as  possible.  Another  measure  with  the  same  end  in  view, 
which  was  passed  when  British  Columbia  obtained  a  governor 
separate  from  Vancouver  Island,  was  to  levy  tariff  duties  on  the 
value  of  goods  at  the  port  of  export.  As  a  third  step  in  this 
policy,  New  Westminster  wanted  direct  steam  communication 
with  San  Francisco.41  But  it  remained  for  a  future  city  on  Bur- 
rard  Inlet,  Vancouver,  to  accomplish  in  part  what  New  West- 
minster meditated. 

At  that  time,  however,  Victoria  was  clearly  in  the  lead.  Here 
was  a  remarkable  example  of  a  thriving  city  whose  growth  and 
prosperity  depended  little  upon  its  near  surroundings,  but  almost 
entirely  upon  mines  hundreds  of  miles  away  in  the  distant  in- 
terior of  the  mainland.  One  of  the  most  interesting  phases  of 


*T  Hon.  C.  B.  Bagley,  of  Seattle,  emphasized  the  point  presented  in  the  text 
in  a  reminiscent  conversation. 

88  It  is  worth  noticing  that  the  University  of  Washington  was  founded  in  the 
period  of  the  mining  advance,  Jan.  28,  1861. 

»»Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col,  p.  217. 

40  British  ColumUan,  Feb.  13,  1861.  The  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eraser  was 
a.  hindrance  to  the  entrance  of  ocean  ships. 

« Id.  Aug.  15,  1861. 

[249] 


114  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

the  history  of  Victoria,  however,  in  the  period  of  our  study,  was 
the  way  in  which  the  city  was  regarded  in  English  books  and 
papers  of  the  time.  She  was  to  he  the  Liverpool  of  the  Pacific. 
It  was  admitted  that  her  own  harhour  was  somewhat  shallow,  hut 
near  at  hand  was  the  magnificent  harbour  of  Esquimault.42  With 
such  an  harbour  and  in  so  commanding  a  portion  on  the  Pacific, 
Victoria  surely  would  become  a  great  emporium  for  trade.  In  ac- 
cordance with  this  ideal  the  city's  revenue  laws  were  shaped; 
money  was  collected  from  direct  taxation,  and  Victoria  was  made 
a  free  port,  like  Singapore  and  Hong  Kong.43 

The  Willamette  Valley,  as  we  have  before  noted,  looked  some- 
what askance  upon  the  movement  to  the  mines  for  the  reason  that 
they  took  from  the  valley  laborers  and  farmers.  This  resentful- 
ness  is  somewhat  humourously  revealed  by  a  correspondent  of  the 
San  Francisco  Bulletin,  who  writes  from  Portland  as  follows: 
"While  our  venture-loving  population  are  hurrying  on  the  backs 
of  spare-rib  Cayuses  to  the  new  found  Dorado,  the  plowshare 
will  rust  in  the  weedy  furrow,  the  sickle  hang  idly  from  the  de- 
serted roof  tree,  and  the  obstreperous  old  sow  and  her  nine  small 
squeakers  will  root  maintenance  out  of  the  neglected  garden. 
Next  fall  those  who  survive  disease,  vagrancy  and  corn  juice  will 
come  back  moneyless  to  winter.  With  arable  land  enough  to  feed 
the  Pacific  Coast,  many  of  us  will  be  compelled  to  swap  old  Pied, 
that  nursed  us  across  the  plains,  for  California  and  States 
flour. '  '4*  Such  dismal  prognostications,  however,  were  dissipated 
by  the  higher  prices  for  wheat  and  the  greater  market  for  cattle 
which  the  mines  furnished.46 

In  the  prosperity  of  the  mining  advance  Portland  emerged 
from  a  mere  village  to  the  promise  of  the  city  it  has  since  be- 
come. Forces  generated  in  that  period  have  profoundly  affected 
the  city  ?s  development.  We  have  before  noted  the  beginnings  of 
capitalization  of  the  city  in  the  debt  of  the  Indian  war  of  1856, 


42  Esquimault  was  an  important  rendezvous  for  the  British  fleet. 

43  This  policy  of  a  free  port  was  one  of  the  reasons  why  union  of  Vancouver 
Island  with  British  Columbia  was  difficult. 

"May  9,  1862. 

46  From  Portland  there  were  shipped  in  Feb.,  Mch.,  and  April,  1861,  6,032  sacks 
of  flour  up  the  Columbia,  25,418  to  Victoria,  and  63,097  to  San  Francisco.  Ore- 
gonian,  May  4,  1861. 


[250] 


TRIMBLE — -MINING  ADVANCE  115 

but  it  was  during  the  period  from  1861  to  1865  when  the  succes- 
sive waves  of  migration  and  trade  swept  through  the  city  and  up 
the  Columbia  to  Oro  Fino,  Salmon  River,  Boise  and  Alder  Gulch, 
that  decisive  growth  came.  By  1862  the  population  had  doubled, 
wharves  were  built,  steamboats  puffed  busily  on  the  Willa- 
mette, and  hotels,  eating  houses,  stores,  and  saloons  were 
thronged.  Long  lines  of  drays  unloaded  their  goods  at  the 
wharves.46  Gas  and  water  mains  were  laid.  The  firemen  were 
well  organized,  numbered  a  large  proportion  of  the  male  popula- 
tion, and  were  influential  in  politics.47  A  board  of  stock  brokers 
was  formed  which  included  such  growing  capitalists  as  R.  R. 
Thompson  (President),  J.  C.  Ainsworth,  and D.  F.  Bradford,  men 
who  were  then  developing  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Com- 
pany and  speculating  in  the  mines.48  Miners  liked  to  return  to 
Portland  to  winter.  The  portion  of  the  surplus  from  the  placer 
mines,  which  was  expended  in  Portland,  seems  to  have  been  quite 
well  distributed  in  all  kinds  of  business,  but  it  was  noticed  that, 
as  the  placer  mines  passed  their  zenith,  "the  quartz  mines,  con- 
trolled by  capital  send  their  product  abroad  through  narrow 
channels,  so  that  little  reaches  the  general  public."49  Still,  the 
city  had  received  such  a  marked  accession  of  population,  business, 
and  wealth  as  to  insure  permanent  and  steady  growth.50 

But  the  emporium  of  the  northern  mining  movement,  as  she 
was  the  metropolis  of  that  movement,  was  San  Francisco. 
'  *  Three-fourths  of  the  great  trains  penetrating  these  gloomy  f or- 
ests,"  said  the  Idaho  World,  "and  skirting  the  dreary  deserts 


46  "I  remember  in   1861   when   the  drays    were  loaded  going  to  the  boats  of 
the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Co.  and  stood  in  line  it  seems  to  me  half  a  mile 
long  ;  unloading  at  night  so  as  to  go  on  in  the  morning  up  the  river."     Deady,. 
His.  of  the  Progress  of  Oregon  after  18J,5,  MS.  p.  37. 

47  San   Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,   Sept.   3,   1862.     The  firemen's    organizations 
were  important  also  at  The  Dalles  and  at  Virginia  City.      , 

48  Id.,  April  8,    1864. 

49  Id.  June  8,  1865. 

5°.In  1866  a  careful  census  estimated  the  permanent  population  at  6000.  Min- 
eral Resources,  1868,  p.  581. 

There  was  considerable  rivalry  between  Portland  and  Victoria  with  regard  to 
the  trade  of  the  interior,  but  Portland  had  decidedly  the  advantage  because  of 
better  routes,  particularly  in  the  matter  of  grass.  Victoria  never  succeeded  in 
getting  trade  south  of  the  line  in  the  interior,  while  Portland  sent  goods  far 
into  British  Columbia.  On  this  see  an  editorial  of  Victoria  Gazette  in  S  F 
Daily  Bulletin,  Sept.  9,  1860. 

[251] 


116  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

with  the  rising  sun  in  their  eyes,  are  Calif ornians. '  '51  San  Fran- 
cisco had  a  trade  with  Victoria  far  exceeding  that  of  England 
with  the  latter  city;  in  the  interior  of  British  Columbia  her 
goods  were  everywhere  to  be  found;  in  Boise  Basin  her  hold, 
though  not  undisputed  by  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  was  upper- 
most ;  and  on  the  far  confines  of  her  commercial  domains,  at 
Virginia  City  and  Helena,  she  did  battle  with  St.  Joseph  and  St. 
Louis.52  The  quality  of  her  goods  was  of  the  best  and  the  goods 
were  well  adapted  to  the  miners;  her  woolens  and  mining  ma- 
chinery were  particularly  in  demand.  In  accordance  with  this 
demand,  we  may  note  that  in  1867  the  Pacific  Rolling  Mills  were 
established  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000  and  that  the  Pacific  Woolen 
Mills  turned  out  annually  a  product  worth  $500,000.  The 
growth  of  the  trade  with  the  northern  mining  region  was  noted 
with  satisfaction  and  its  importance  clearly  seen. 

In  the  matter  of  mining  machinery  San  Francisco  had  some 
•clear  advantage  over  competitors.  Machinery  shipped  from  that 
city  arrived  at  its  destination  much  earlier  in  the  season  than 
'than  shipped  across  the  plains.  Of  greatest  advantage,  however, 
was  the  fact  that  her  machinists  were  personally  familiar  with 
mines  and  that  improvements  which  were  demonstrated  successes 
could  be  much  more  quickly  adopted  there  than  in  the  East. 
San  Francisco  machinery,  therefore,  had  little  to  fear  from  east- 
ern competition  in  Idaho,  but  in  Montana  the  great  advantage 
of  freight  shipments  by  the  Missouri  gave  her  rivals,  Chicago 
and  St.  Louis,  the  lead.53 

We  perceive,  therefore,  that  the  product  of  the  mines  of  the 
northern  interior  was  very  important  in  the  upbuilding  of  wide 
trade  and  of  many  communities  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Let  us 


61  Oct.  14,  1865. 

52  The   imports   into   Victoria   from    San    Francisco   in    1861    were   valued   at 
$1,151,000  as  against  $457,000  from  Great  Britain  ;  in  1S62  the  amounts  were 
respectively,    $2,387,000    and    $703,000;    in    1863,    $1,940,000    and    $1,294,000. 
Macfie,  Van  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  pp.  106-7.     The  direct  trade  with  the  mother  coun- 
try was  on  the  increase,  but  for  these  three  years  the  totals  were,  respectively, 
$5,478,000  and  $2,454.000. 

San  Francisco  goods  could  compete  in  the  early  spring  and  late  fall  to  ad- 
vantage in  Montana,  but  when  the  heavily  laden  steamers  arrived  competition 
was  restricted  to  woolens,  teas,  and  a  few  other  articles.  See  thoughtful  letter 
from  Helena  to  the  Idaho  World,  Feb.  3,  1866. 

53  Ibid ;  also,   Richardson,  Beyond  the  Mississippi,  p.  507. 

'   [252] 


THIMBLE— MIXING  ADVANCE  117 

now  inquire  the  national  significance  to  the  United  States  of  this 
product  and  movement. 

Of  the  wide  effect  of  the  development  of  these  mining  regions 
upon  transportation  I  shall  treat  in  the  next  chapter.  It  is  a 
fact  certainly  worthy  of  attention,  also,  that  during  the  progress 
of  so  great  a  struggle  as  that  of  the  Civil  War,  vigorous  new 
.  communities  should  have  come  into  existence  under  the  control 
of  the  Federal  Government. 

But  I  wish  now  especially  to  consider  the  significance  of  the 
treasure  production  upon  the  national  welfare.04  The  opening 
up  of  new  treasure  fields  was  looked  to  with  very  great  interest 
at  the  time,  because  their  product  was  regarded  as  aiding  the 
credit  of  the  nation,  helping  to  restore  a  specie  basis,  and,  possi- 
bly, as  directly  contributing  to  the  payment  of  the  national  debt. 
"The  production  of  gold  and  silver  in  the  United  States",  said 
the  Banker's  Magazine,  "is  one  of  the  important  financial  and 
social  questions  of  the  day.  We  look  to  California  and  other 
states  of  the  Pacific  to  yield,  for  some  years  to  come,  an  abundant 
supply  of  these  metals,  with  which  to  restore  the  country  to  a 
specie  basis  in  its  commerce  with  other  portions  of  the  world/'55 
We  can  commence  our  calculations  advantageously  in  the  year 
1861,  when  receipts  of  treasure  in  San  Francisco  from  the  mines 
of  the  northern  interior  began  to  be  appreciable,  and  we  can 
continue  them  through  1867,  the  year  in  which  the  United  States 
Mining  Commissioner,  J.  Ross  Browne,  aggregated  estimates. 
The  following  table  will  give  a  general  idea  of  the  yields : 


84 1  am  conscious  of  the  danger  that  a  student  of  sectional  history  may  over- 
rate the  importance  of  the  section  that  be  is  studying.  Not  only  may  he  be 
somewhat  influenced  in  his  judgments  by  the  bias  of  special  investigation,  but 
also,  possibly,  by  an  unconscious  promotive  tendency.  While  this  sort  of  study 
helps  to  bring  into  needed  relief  the  history  of  sections,  it  nevertheless  may  over 
accentuate  them.  It  may  be,  therefore,  that  after  our  American  history  has  been 
sufficiently  worked  out  by  special  sections  and  in  special  periods,  re-valuation 
will  be  necessary  by  comprehensive  historians. 

&5Vol.  XX.  18C5-G,  p.  GOG.  A  thoughtful  financier  wrote  that  it  was  imprac- 
ticable for  the  United  States  to  carry  on  international  exchanges  when  its  money 
was  depreciated  currency,  and  suggested  that  one  of  the  ways  in  which  the 
United  States  was  trying  to  overcome  the  evils  of  its  currency  in  relation  to 
foreign  trade  was  by  continuous  augmentation  of  tariff  rates ;  letter  from 
Robert  J.  Walker,  Mineral  Resources,  1868,  p.  6G4. 


>  [253]  ! 


118  BULLETIN   OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Total  Gold         Gold  Product     Silver  Product     Total  Bullion 

Year 

1861  

1862  

1863  

1864  . 

1865  

1866  

1867  51,725,000          25,000,000          13,500,000          65,225,000 


Product 

of 

of 

Product  of 

of  U.  S. 

California 

U.   S. 

U.  S. 

$43,000,000 

$40,000,000 

$2,000,000 

$45,000,000 

39,200,000 

34,700,000 

4,500,000 

43,700,000 

40,000,000 

30,000,000 

8,500,000 

48,500,000 

46,100,000 

26,600,000 

11,000,000 

57,100,000 

53,225,000 

28,500,000 

11,250,000 

64,475,000 

53,500,000 

25,500,000 

10,000,000 

63,500,000 

Total    ...      $326,750,000     $210,300,000       $60,750,000     $387, 500,000s* 

Now,  as  we  have  seen,  the  total  bullion  product  of  the  mining 
regions  which  we  are  studying,  to  the  close  of  1867,  with  some 
confidence  may  be  estimated  at  $156,111,000.  In  comparing  this 
amount  with  the  total  product  of  the  United  States,  however, 
some  deductions  must  be  made.  British  Columbia  produced 
previous  to  1861,  $4,648,000 ;  moreover,  not  quite  all  of  the  Brit- 
ish Columbia  product  was  manifested  through  San  Francisco 
although  far  the  greater  part  was.57  We  have  then,  a  total  ac- 
cretion of  $151,463,000  as  the  contribution  of  these  mines  to  the 
national  stock  of  bullion  out  of  a  total  increase  of  $387,500,000. 
That  is,  they  produced  in  the  years  when  the  nation  most  needed 
increase  of  treasure  production,  not  quite  40  per  cent,  of  the 
total  increase.  Furthermore,  this  percentage  is  still  higher,  when 
gold  alone  is  considered.  Far  the  larger  part  of  the  increase 
in  silver  came  from  the  phenomenal  output  of  Nevada,  and  ques- 
tion was  already  being  raised  as  to  the  effect  upon  values.  But 
the  product  of  the  Inland  Empire  in  these  years,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  silver  of  Owyhee,  was  amost  entirely  gold;  and 
the  silver  of  Owyhee  probably  did  not  amount  to  over  $1,500,000, 
since  much  of  the  quartz  was  gold.  We  are  reasonably  safe, 
therefore,  in  saying  that  somewhat  over  40  per  cent,  of  the  total 
gold  product  of  the  United  States,  at  a  trying  financial  period, 
came  from  the  mining  regions  which  we  are  studying.58 


56  These  figures  are  from  Mineral  Resources,  1874,  pp.  543  &  4,  by  R.  W.  Ray- 
mond. He  says  that  they  are  compiled  from  various  sources  and  that  the  "ag- 
gregates are  believed  to  be  approximately  correct".  Some  further  figures  from 
the  same  report  in  regard  to  silver  production  are  startling :  From  1848-1861 
the  U.  S.  produced  silver  to  the  value  of  $800,000;  from  1868  to  1873,  inclu- 
sive, $124,500,000.  In  the  latter  year  the  silver  production  lacked  only  $250,000 
of  being  equal  to  that  of  gold. 

"  There  is  no  way  to  arrive  at  the  exact  amount  of  this  deduction,  and  to 
that  extent  allowance  should  be  made  in  our  conclusions. 

88  It  is  significant,  moreover,  that  this  product  came  as  reinforcement  at  a 
time  when  California's  yield  was  steadily  and  markedly  decreasing.  See  table 
above. 

[254]  v 


TRIMBLE—MINING  ADVANCE  119 


CHAPTER  VIII 

TRANSPORTATION 

The  subject  of  transportation  might  well  have  been  treated 
under  the  heading  of  the  preceding  chapter,  because  the  estab- 
lishment of  means  of  transportation  and  the  capitalization  of 
transportation  were  among  the  most  important  permanent  forms 
in  the  utilization  of  the  mining  product.  However,  the  subject 
is  so  large  as  to  demand  a  separate  chapter. 

That  the  building  up  of  transportation  lines  was  a  part  of  the 
permanent  production  of  the  mines  is  apparent  when  we  con- 
sider that  trade  rushed  to  mining  centres  not  because  of  high 
prices,  but  because  of  difference  of  price  levels ;  and  that  the  cost 
of  transportation  represented  a  large  part  of  this  difference.  For 
example,  a  moderate  difference  is  disclosed  between  Portland 
and  Oro  Fino  in  1861  in  the  following  figures  : 

Portland  Oro  Fino 

Bacon   8-9c  35-40c 

Flour    • $3.75-4.50  $16-18 

Tea 50c-$l           $1.25 

Candles    28-30c           $1 . 00 

Nails 5%-6c  33-37c 

Beans   6c               25c 

Sugar    He               40c 

Coffee 20-25c  45-50C1 

The  larger  share  of  such  difference  in  prices  between  Portland 
and  the  upper  country,  paid  for  out  of  the  treasure  product,  fell 
to  the  principal  intermediary,  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation 
Company,  and  helped  to  capitalize  that  important  instrument  of 
transportation. 

To  remote  places  the  charges  for  transportation  were  enormous. 
For  example,  the  statement  is  made  that  a  trader  in  1862  took 
to  the  mines  of  Cariboo  goods  costing  in  Victoria  about  $15,000, 

1  Oregonian,  June  29,  1861. 

.  [255] 


120  BULLETIN  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

upon  which  the  customary  and  unavoidable  charges  before  they 
reached  their  destination  amounted  to  $70,000.  The  charges 
from  San  Francisco  to  Cariboo,  excluding  customs  duties,  mer- 
chants' commissions,  and  retailers'  profits,  it  was  said,  cost  in 
1863  $1628  per  ton,  of  which  $1440  was  for  land  transport.2  In 
view  of  such  charges  it  was  a  wise  policy  in  the  British  Columbia 
government  to  collect  heavy  revenues  and  to  spend  large  sums 
on  the  roads.  When  the  great  trunk  road  from  Yale  to  Cariboo 
was  opened  in  1864,  freight  fell  from  60  cents  to  30  cents  per 
pound  and  in  the  next  year  to  15  cents.3  These  figures  give  some 
conception  of  the  heavy  charges  paid  from  the  product  of  the 
mines. 

With  such  returns  in  the  transportation  business,  it  is  easy  to 
understand  that  an  army  of  packers,  freighters,  and  stagecoach 
men  were  needed  to  carry  passengers  and  goods  from  the  heads 
of  steamboat  navigation  to  the  widely  scattered  mines.  Into  the 
most  remote  localities  and  over  trails  of  all  grades  and  conditions 
came  the  pack  animals  with  the  tinkle  of  their  bells  and  the 
shouts  of  their  Mexican  drivers.4  Packing  was  a  trade,  which 
required  skill  and  strength.  To  swing  a  heavy  pack  upon  an 
animal's  back  and  to  make  it  stay  there  was  no  light  accomplish- 
ment.5 The  pack  animals  were  generally  wintered  in  the  lower 
and  warmer  valleys.6  It  was  not  at  all  unusual  for  packers,  as 
their  business  declined,  to  become  stockmen  and  farmers.  This 
business  always  weakened,  when  the  improvement  of  roads, 


2  London  Time*,  Aug.  S,  1803. 

*  Harvey,  Arthur,  A  Statistical  Account  of  British  Columbia,  p.  11. 

4  Trains  were  generally  owned  by  Americans ;  but  Mexicans,  because  of  special 
skill,  were  generally,  though  not  always,  the  packers. 

6  "I  must  plead  guilty  to  a  sneaking  admiration  of  'packers'  (muleteers)  and 
teamsters.  These  men  are  wondrous  results  of  the  law  of  demand  and  supply ; 
for  the  work  demanded  they  have  become  thoroughly  capable  and  that  work 
demands  strength,  skill,  daring,  endurance  and  trustworthiness  *  *  *  Hav- 
ing to  lift  heavy  weights  sheer  from  the  ground  on  to  the  pack  saddle,  'packers' 
are  very  muscular  men,  with  grand  chests  and  shoulders.  They  have  also  many 
savage  accomplishments :  are  good  farriers,  can  accomplish  marvels  with  the 
axe,  a  screw  key  and  a  young  sapling  for  a  lever.  But  they  are  a  godless  race 
both  actively  and  passively.  They  earn  considerable  wages,  and  after  a  few 
years  settle  down  in  some  of  our  beautiful  valleys,  surrounded  by  an  Indian 
clientele."  Report  of  Rev.  James  Reynard,  Occasional  Papers  of  Columbian 
Mission,  1869,  pp.  63-4. 

•A  good  idea  of  Walla  Walla  as  a  packing  centre  may  be  got  from  Schafer, 
History  of  tJie  Pacific  Northwest,  pp.  258-60. 

[256] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  121 

bridges,  and  ferries  permitted  the  use  of  freight  teams.7  The 
tinkle  of  the  bells  was  replaced  by  the  gee-haw  of  the  "bull- 
whackers"  and  the  cracks  of  the  teamsters'  whips.  From  Yale 
to  Cariboo,  from  Ft.  Benton  to  Helena  and  Virginia  City,  from 
Uinatilla  or  Wallula  to  Boise  Basin  long  trains  of  slow-moving, 
heavily  laden  wagons  were  to  be  seen,  carrying  to  the  camps  the 
wares  of  civilization.8 

As  to  passenger  movement,  many  of  the  miners  walked  from 
the  heads  of  steamboat  navigation  to  the  mines.  Others  clubbed 
together  and  bought  a  horse  to  carry  their  impedimenta,  while 
still  others  provided  themselves  with  a  horse  for  each  individual. 
In  other  cases  passengers  were  carried  by  saddle  train,  and  this 
sometimes  became  an  important  business.  The  owners  of  a  sad- 
dle train  would  furnish  riding  horses,  carry  a  small  amount  of 
baggage,  and  provide  provisions.9  Stage  coaches,  of  course, 
came  rapidly  into  use  on  all  the  most  travelled  thoroughfares. 
The  main  stagelines  were  those  from  Salt  Lake  City  to  Virginia 
City  and  Helena,  from  Salt  Lake  via  Boise  and  Walla  Walla  to 
Wallula,  and  from  Yale  to  Barkerville.  Ben  Holladay  in  Idaho 
and  Montana,  as  elsewhere  in  the  west,  was  dominant,  having  a 
clear  advantage  because  of  his  contract  for  carrying  the  United 
States  mails.  We  get  a  glimpse  of  the  spirit  of  the  times  in  the 
Song  of  the  Overland  Stage,  written  by  Nat  Steen,  one  of  the 
employes  of  Holladay  ?s  Company  : 

"It's  thus  you're  safely  carried  throughout  the  mighty  West, 
Where  chances  to  make  fortunes  are  ever  of  the  best ; 

And  thus  the  precious  pouches  of  mail  are  brought  to  hand, 
Through  the  ready  hearts  that  center  on  the  jolly  Overland." 


7  The  coining  in  of  freighters,  between  Umatilla  and  Boise  Basin  reduced  slow 
freight  from  ten  and  twelve  cents  per   pound  to   six  and  eight  cents,   Hailey, 
His.  of  Idaho,  p.  99. 

8  One  gets  a  suggestion  of  the   amount  of  goods  transported  by  teams'  Into 
mining  regions  from    the  advertisement  of  a   wholesale  firm  in  Virginia  City, 
Baume,   Angevine   and   Merry,   who  in   1864   advertised   for    sale   500   boxes   of 
tobacco,  250  bbls.  of  liquor,  1500  sacks  of  flour,  500  Ibs.  of  ham,  10,000  Ibs.  of 
bacon,  400  cans  of  lard,  50  bags  of  coffee  and  100  kegs  of  nails ;  Montana  Post, 
Sept.  24,  1864. 

'For  a  good  description  of  this  phase  of  transportation,  as  well  as  running 
a  stage  line,  one  should  not  fail  to  read  chapter  XII,  XIX  and  XXV  of  Hailey's 
History  of  Idaho.  These  chapters  are  based  on  experience  and  show  intimate 
knowledge. 

•    [257] 


122  BULLETIN  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


Chorus. 

' '  Statesmen  and  warriors,  traders  and  the  rest, 
May  boast  of  their  profession,  and  think  it  is  the  best ; 

Their  state  1 11  never  envy,  1 11  have  you  understand, 
Long  as  I  can  be  a  driver  on  the  jolly  Overland." 

But  Holladay  was  not  without  competition.  A.  J.  Oliver  and 
Company  started  the  first  stage  from  Virginia  City  to  Bannack, — 
' '  A  weekly  affair,  not  much  good,  but  a  long  way  ahead  of  noth- 
ing."10 This  line  was  extended  to  Helena,  and,  when  Holladay 
came  on  the  scene,  the  rivalry  was  intense.  For  awhile  the  fare 
between  the  two  places  was  one  dollar,  and  the  distance,  one 
hundred  and  ten  miles,  was  made  in  twelve  hours  or  less,  the 
horses  being  kept  at  a  hard  gallop-11  Some  of  the  best  staging1 
in  the  United  States  was  done  between  Virginia  City  and  Hel- 
ena.12 There  was  competition,  also,  on  the  southern  route, 
where  Ish  and  Hailey  carried  on  a  careful  and  prosperous  line 
between  Boise  and  Umatilla.13 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  important  aspects  of  trans- 
portation in  the  mining  regions  was  the  express  business.  Into 
every  most  remote  camp,  months  before  the  mail  was  established, 
pushed  hardy  carriers  bearing  with  them  the  longed  for  news 
of  the  war  and  the  letters  "from  the  dear  ones  in  the  distant 
homes — letters  in  which  the  kisses  are  yet  warm  and  the  heart 
beats  yet  audible."14  The  life  of  the  expressman  was  particu- 
larly hard  in  the  winter  time,  when,  guiding  himself  often  by 
compass,  risking  snow  blindness,  often  camping  for  the  night  in 
the  snow,  he  made  his  way  with  the  utmost  fidelity  to  the  lone 


10  Remarks  of  Judge  W.   Y.   Pemberton,   of  Helena. 

11  Ibid. 

12  "The  best  staging  in  the  United  States",  Richardson,   Our  New  States  and 
Territories,  p.  70. 

13  Other  local  lines  were  those  of  Greathouse  &  Co.  from  Boise  City  to  Idaho 
City  and  of  Hill  Beachy  from  Boise  City  to  Silver  City.     Later  a  stage  was 
run    from   Silver  City  to  Virginia   City,   Nevada,   and  another    (by   Capt.  John 
Mullan)   from  Silver  City  to  Red  Bluffs,  California.     There  was  a  good  deal  of 
effort  to  get  a  feasible  direct  connection  between  Idaho  and  California,   and  it 
was  partially  successful. 

14  Goulder,  Reminiscences  of  a  Pioneer,  p.   216. 


[258] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  123 

«amps.  Such  a  man  was  David  D.  Chamberlain,  who  carried 
letters  at  a  dollar  apiece  from  Walla  Walla  to  East  Bannack 
during  the  winter  of  1863-4.15  Another  was  Joaquin  Miller, 
afterwards  to  become  famous  as  poet,  who  rode  express  from 
Walla  Walla  to  Salmon  River.16  This  business  was  soon  taken 
up  by  companies.  There  were  a  number  of  small  concerns  such 
as  that  of  Ballou  in  British  Columbia.17  But  the  great  company, 
whose  offices  were  to  be  found  in  every  large  town,  whose  messen- 
.gers  travelled  on  almost  every  steamer,  or  sat  by  the  driver  on 
almost  every  stage,  was  Wells,  Fargo  and  Company.  They  were 
ubiquitous  in  the  mining  regions,  both  north  and  south  of  the 
Line,  and  a  very'  large  proportion  of  the  treasure  reached  the 
outer  world  through  them.18 

For  the  mail,  of  course,  there  was  very  great  iirgency.  Peti- 
tions from  territorial  legislatures  for  establishment  of  new  mail 
routes  as  new  camps  were  formed,  were  very  numerous.  The 
government  of  British  Columbia  was  more  tardy  in  responding 
to  the  need  for  mail  facilities  than  were  the  United  States  au- 
thorities.19 But  in  both  regions  the  mail  served  to  tie  the  new 
communities  to  the  old  seats  of  civilization.  A  thousand  ten- 
drils ran  back  to  friends,  relatives,  and  sweethearts  in  the  East 
and  in  Britain  and  kept  alive  sentiments  in  danger  of  being 
blurred  in  the  new  life.  The  over-emphasis  upon  the  adventur- 
ous, rough,  romantic  side  of  the  miners'  lives  has  neglected  this 
very  strong  influence;  one  who  reads  some  of  the  letters  to  the 
miners  telling-  the  little  nothings  of  neighborhood  doings,  or 
sometimes  bringing  solemn  announcement  of  death  of  loved  ones 


18  Sketches  of  Early  Settlers  in  Montana  by  Col.  W.  F.  Sanders,  MS. 

18  For  the  experiences  of  Miller  see  a  Pioneer  Pony  Express  Rider,  Chap. 
X  of  Illustrated  History  of  Montana,  published  by  Lewis  Pub.  Co.  The  first  part 
of  this  book  was  written  by  him. 

17  Ballou's  Adventures  are  found  in  MS.  in  the  Bancroft  Library.     They  may 
be  fairly  trustworthy  as  to  the  express  business,  but  in  other  matters  they  are 
evidently  gasconade. 

18  The  student  of  history  longs   to  get  at  the  records  of  Wells,   Fargo  &  Co. 
Its  history  would  make  excellent  material  for  a  monograph. 

"There  were  eight  post  offices  in  British  Columbia,  Dec.  31,  18C3.  The  total 
expenditure  was  3291  pounds  and  the  total  income  749  pounds.  One  half  of 
the  mail  carried  was  that  of  the  Government.  The  Post  Master  General  wanted 
-a  monopoly  in  the  Government  in  order  to  restrain  private  carriage ;  Report  of 
Post  Master  General,  Oovt.  Gazette,  Feb.  5,  1864. 

[259] 


124  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

back  home,  gets  a  finer  conception  of  the  real  life  of  the  miners 
than  that  typified  by  the  six-shooter.  There  was  demand,  also, 
for  the  telegraph,  and  before  1870  the  principal  towns  both  north 
and  south  of  the  line  were  connected  with  the  outer  world  by 
this  means.  Thus  the  constant  tendency  in  these  far-away  com- 
munities was  towards  better  facilities  of  communication. 

For  land  transportation  of  every  species  roads,  ferries,  and 
bridges  were  very  necessary.  We  who  are  so  accustomed  to  such 
conveniences  now  can  scarcely  imagine  under  what  difficulties 
the  pioneers  labored  in  trying  to  provide  them  in  a  country  of 
great  distances,  swift  streams,  and  mountainous  grades.  We  have 
noted  how  manfully  and  successfully  Governor  Douglas  attacked 
the  great  problem  of  roads  to  Cariboo.  "In  British  Columbia 
there  was  less  resort  to  private  parties,  with  special  charters, 
than  there  was  in  the  territories  to  the  south.  Every  legislature 
in  these,  territories  was  besieged  for  special  charters  for  roads, 
bridges,  and  ferries,  and  they  were  granted  in  large  numbers. 
Men  who  obtained  a  monopoly  of  ferriage  over  a  stream  otherwise 
impassable,  and  on  the  main  road  to  a  large  mining  camp,  were| 
sure  of  making  money.20  On  the  other  hand,  as  on  old  pioneer 
expressed  it  to  me,  "We  had  to  have  roads  and  bridges  andi 
ferries,  we  had  no  money,  and  how  were  we  to  get  them  ?"21  The| 
construction  of  roads  and  trails  was  often  very  expensive  andi 
the  season  for  heavy  travel  short.22  Still,  the  aggregate  of  toll 
charges  was  a  serious  expense.  For  example,  the  tolls  for  the] 
round  trip  from  Umatilla  to  Boise  cost  ten  dollars  for  each  an- 
imal.23 Governor  Ashley,  of  Montana,  said  in  his  message  of 
1869  that  the  tolls  from  Helena  to  Corinne,  Utah,  were  forty] 
dollars  for  each  team.2* 

Important  as  was  the  land  transportation,  however,  it  had  noi 
the  significance  of  the  steamboat  navigation.  Stearnboating  en- 
tered upon  a  new  phase  in  its  efforts  to  serve  the  wants  of  the  I 


^  At  Craig's  Ferry  at  Lewiston  in  1662,  Mrs.  Schultze  found  waiting  "500  m< 
much  freight,  and  hundreds  of  mules  and  horses." — Anecdotes  of  Early  Bettl 
ment  of  northern  Idaho.  MS.  p.  2. 

21  Remark  of  Judge  W.  Y.  Pemberton. 

"Hailey,  His.  of  Idaho,  p.  30. 

23  Id.  p.  fi2. 

24  Contributions  to  His.  Soc.  of  Mont.  Vol.  VI,  p.  279. 

[260] 


TRIMBLE— -MINING  ADVANCE  125 

mines  of  the  Inland  Empire.  Never  before  in  history  had  steam- 
boats penetrated  so  far  from  lands  of  settled  habitation,  nor  en- 
countered such  risks,  as  they  did  on  the  long  stretch  of  the  upper 
Missouri,  with  its  bare  and  tortuous  channels,  or  on  the  swift 
waters  of  the  Columbia  and  the  Fraser,  with  their  snags  and 
rapids. 

Let  us  consider  separately  the  navigation  on  each  of  these 
streams. 

On  the  last  named,  navigation  may  be  said  to  have  extended 
from  Victoria  to  Yale.25  A  steamboat  was  also  placed  upon  the 
upper  Fraser  from  Quesnelmouth  to  Soda  Creek.  Men  were 
charmed  then  as  they  are  now  by  the  beauty  of  the  scenery — the 
islands  of  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  Mount  Baker  towering  in  the 
distance,  the  thickly  wooded  banks  of  the  lower  Fraser,  and  the 
increasing  majesty  of  the  bluffs  further  up.  Still  more  beautiful 
was  the  trip  up  Harrison  Lake.  So  matter-of-fact  a  man  as  J.  C. 
Ainsworth,  chief  organizer  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Co., 
wrote  concerning  the  first  steamboat  trip  into  this  lake:  "We 
were  running  along  just  at  dusk  of  a  warm  day  in  July — it 
must  have  been  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening — when  all  at  once 
we  opened  into  this  great  lake  twenty-four  miles  long  and  four 
or  five  miles  wide,  surrounded  by  those  beautiful  mountains 
and  the  full  moon  was  rising  right  from  the  lake.  Well,  I  never 
saw  men  so  affected  by  excitement  in  my  life.26  They  were 
greatly  affected  by  the  grandeur  of  the  scene.  Well,  it  would 
have  excited  anybody.  I  partook  of  some  of  the  excitement  my- 
self."27 As  captain  and  owner  of  the  vessel,  however,  he  pru- 
dently restrained  himself  and  ran  this  first  passage  cautiously. 

It  was  Americans,  indeed,  who  owned  and  ran  most  of  the 
Fraser  River  steamboats.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  at  the 
commencement  of  the  mining  advance  had  two  small  steamers, 
which  ran  to  Hope ;  but  they  were  dirty,  and  the  meals  were 
poor.28  It  was  an  American  steamer,  the  Umatilla,  that  first  dared 
to  encounter  the  swift  current  between  Hope  and  Yale.  The 


25  Also  up  Harrison  River  and  Lake. 

M  There  were  seventy   miners  aboard. 

2T  Statement  of  Capt.  J.  G.  Ainsworth,  MS.  p.  16. 

28  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Feb.  6,  1861. 


[261] 


126  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

strength  of  the  current  in  this  stretch  of  about  fifteen  miles  is 
revealed  by  the  fact  that  it  took  six  hours  to  go  up,  and  half  an 
hour  to  come  down.29  British  travelers  marveled  at  the  reckless- 
ness of  the  Americans.  The  vessel  on  which  Mr.  Macfie  journeyed 
from  Hope  to  Yale,  although  the  steam  pressure  was  way  beyonc 
that  allowed  by  law,  for  twenty  minutes  at  one  place  appeared 
to  make  no  progress ;  the '  captain  and  other  Americans  on  boarc 
made  bets  as  to  the  issue  and  coolly  discussed  the  chances  of  an 
explosion.30  The  characteristic  indifference  of  Americans  with 
regard  to  human  life  came  out  in  a  conversation  shared  by  Mr 
Macfie,  when  the  inquiry  was  put  to  a  Yankee  as  to  the  safety 
of  a  certain  steamer:  "She  may  do  very  well  for  passengers,' 
was  the  reply,  ' '  but  I  wouldn  't  trust  treasure  in  her. ' m  On  the 
other  hand,  the  British  admired  the  cleanliness  of  the  American 
boats,  the  abundance  and  goodness  of  the  provisions,  the  superi- 
ority of  the  service,  and  the  comfort  of  the  cabins.32 

The  history  of  steamboat  navigation  on  the  Columbia  River 
during  the  period  of  the  mining  advance  is  the  history  of  the 
Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company.  And  the  history  of  "this 
company  is  of  a  peculiar  interest  and  importance  both  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  development  of  the  great  mining  area  whose 
transportation  it  controlled,  and  as  a  concrete  and  simplified 
example  of  monopolistic  methods;  but  the  details  of  its  history 
have  been  so  adequately  presented  elsewhere,  that  I  shall  at- 
tempt to  touch  only  salient  features.33  The  sine  qua  non  of  the 
company  was  the  control  of  the  portages  at  the  Cascades  and  the 
Dalles.  At  first  various  individuals  and  groups  owned  what 
facilities  there  were  at  these  places  and  also  the  steamboats  be- 


29  Macfie,  Van  Id.  and  Br.  Col,  p.  232. 


31  Id. 

^Hazlitt,  Cariboo,  p.  78.  A  noted  American  boat  was  the  Wilson  G.  Hunt, 
which  had  before  seen  service  on  the  Sacramento  and  was  later  transferred  to 
the  Columbia.  The  steamer  on  which  Ainsworth  went  into  Lake  Harrison 
had  been  built  on  the  Columbia  above  the  Cascades,  but  by  misadventure  had 
gone  over.  Ainsworth  bought  an  interest  in  her  and  took  her  to  British  Colum- 
bia. Statement,  p.  14. 

33  Pbppleton,  Irene  Lincoln.     Oregon's  First  Monopoly,  Quarterly  of  the  Or.  His* 
Soc.   Sept.   1908,  Vol.  IX,  No.   3,  pp.   274-304.     A  bibliography  is  appended,   to 
which  may  be  added  the  Statement  of  Capt.  J.  C.  Ainsworth,  MS.  in  the  Ban- 
croft Collection  and  item  in  Mineral  Resources,  1868,  pp.  579,-80. 


[262] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  127 

low,  above,  and  between.  Far  sighted  individuals  emerged  from 
these  contending  groups,  who  by  patience,  tact,  and  pressure 
brought  about  consolidation  into  one  company.  Then  we  have 
clearly  the  characteristics  of  monopolistic  control:  deft,  though 
not  clearly  blameworthy,  handling  of  legislatures ;  extremely  high 
rates,  all  that  the  traffic  would  bear;  strong  attempt  at  competi- 
tion, and  obnoxious  methods  of  stifling  it;  popular  resentment 
and  distrust;  swift  aggregation  of  capital,  as  civilized  society 
took  possession  of  the  vast  tributary  area;  prudent  and  skillful 
management,  notable  efficiency  and  enterprise: — in  fact,  real 
industrial  leadership.  Steamboat  navigation  of  the  time  reached 
its  highest  point  in  the  powerful  boats,  nicely  responsive  to  the 
steersman 's  touch,  which  surmounted  the  rapids  of  the  Columbia 
and  the  Snake.34  The  appointments  of  the  boats  were  first  class, 
the  meals  good,  and  everything  was  clean  and  neat.  The  enter- 
prise of  the  company  is  shown  in  the  way  in  which  it  put  boats 
on  remote  navigable  stretches.  On  the  upper  Columbia  it  owned 
the  Forty  Nine;  on  the  Clark's  Fork  of  the  Columbia  and  Lake 
Pend  d'  Oreille  it  had  the  Mary  Moody  and  two  other  boats; 
on  the  upper  Snake  in  southern  Idaho  it  built  the  Shoshone  at  an 
expense  of  $100,000,  in  order  to  try  to  get  some  of  the  Salt  Lake 
trade.35  Far-reaching  enterprise,  efficiency,  and  monopolistic 
grasp  were,  therefore,  the  outstanding  characteristics  of  the  Ore- 
gon Steam  Navigation  Company. 

There  could  be  no  such  monopoly  in  the  steamboat  navigation 
which  served  the  mining  regions  by  way  of  the  upper  Missouri. 
Starting  with  the  Chippewa  in  1859,  from  two  to  eight  boats 
ascended  the  river  each  year  from  1860  to  1865  (except  1861)  • 
then  the  Sioux  hostilities  on  the  Bozeman  Road  from  1866  to 
1868,  coinciding  witli  much  industrial  activity  in  western  Mon- 


34  A  Trip  from  Portland  to  Boise,  S.   F.  Daily  Bulletin,  June,  25,  1864,  gives 
some  interesting  facts  about  these  steamers  and  their  work. 
.**  Statement  of  Ainsworth,  p.  24. 

The  Mary  Moody  was  built  in  1865.  In  four  months  from  the  time  the  first 
tree  was  felled  for  her,  she  was  launched.  "She  was  108  feet  in  length,  20 
feet  beams,  and  was  85  tons  burden  and  constructed  entirely  of  whipsawed  lum- 
ber." Sketch  by  Judge  Frank  H.  Moody,  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mont.  Vol.  II,  p.  104. 
This  attempt  to  navigate  the  Upper  Snake  failed,  and  the  Shoshone  ran  the 
frightful  canons  to  Lewiston.  In  the  history  of  steamboating  in  the  United 
States  it  would  be  hard  to  parallel  this  perilous  feat. 

[263] 


128  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

tana,  suddenly  raised  the  number  to  thirty-one  in  1866,  thirty- 
nine  in  1867,  thirty-five  in  1868  and  twenty-four  in  1869.36  These 
years  marked  the  high  tide  of  the  river  traffic,  for  it  swiftly  sank 
as  the  Union  Pacific  arrived  at  competing  distance.  Some  idea 
of  its  dimensions  are  gained  from  statistics.  In  1867,  8061  tons 
of  freight  were  carried  to  Ft.  Benton  and  some  10,000  pasengers. 
As  the  latter  paid  $150  fare  each,  the  total  for  passenger  trans- 
port alone  amounted  to  $1,500,000.37  The  profits  were  so  great 
as  to  more  than  make  up  for  high  rates  of  insurance  and  the 
occasional  loss  of  a  steamer — Captain  La  Barge  in  the  Octavia 
is  reported  to  have  cleared  $40,000  from  one  trip  in  1867  and  the 
profits  of  other  vessels  in  the  previous  year  are  reported  at  from 
$16,000  to  $65,000.38  The  dangers  and  trials  of  the  steamboat 
men,  however,  were  many  and  various.  From  St.  Louis  to  Ft. 
Benton  the  distance  was  2300  miles,  and  there  stretched  from  the 
verge  of  the  settlements  (near  Ft.  Randall)  over  1300  miles  of 
little  known  river.39  Snags  forbade  running  at  night,  except  at 
great  risk;  numerous  bars  had  to  be  " grasshoppered "  over  by 
sparring ;  wood  was  hard  to  get  and  very  expensive ;  boilers  and 
pilot  houses  had  to  be  bulwarked ;  constant  guard  had  to  be  kept 
against  Indian  attacks ;  there  were  dangerous  and  trying  delays 
due  to  falling  water.  Sometimes  throngs  of  buffalo  crossing  the 
river  caused  a  halt.40 

The  destination  to  which  these  steamboats  struggled  was  a 
straggling  village  near  the  old  adobe  fort  of  the  American  Fur 
Company,  Ft.  Benton.  On  the  crowded  levee  of  this  village 
(called,  also,  Ft.  Benton)  was  piled  a  mass  of  varied  merchan- 


wContr.  Mont.  His.  Soc.  Vol.  1,  317-325.  An  excellent  account  of  the 
Sioux  war  along  the  Bozeman  Road  is  found  in  Faxson,  the  Last  American 
Frontier,  Chap.  XVI. 

37  Report  of  Capt.  C.  W.  Howell,  Ex.  Doc.,  House  Rep.   3d.   Sess.  40th  Cong., 
Report  Sec'y.  War,  p.  622  ff;  reprinted  in  N.   Dak.  State  His.  Soc.  Collections, 
Vol.  II,  pp.  379-91. 

28  Chittenden,  H.  M.  History  of  Early  Steamboat  Navigation  on  the  Missouri 
River,  Vol.  II,  pp.  275-6. 

38  Hanson,   The  Conquest  of  the  Missouri,  p.   64.     Chap.   IX  of   this  work  Is 
particularly  commendable. 

40  Journal  of  Capt.  C.  W.  Howell,  Ex.  Doc.  H.  R.  3d.  Sess.  40th  Cong.,  pp.  634- 
54 ;  reprinted  in  N.  D.  His.  Soc.  Col.  Vol.  11,  pp.  392-415.  To  the  authorities 
on  the  navigation  of  the  upper  Missouri,  which  have  been  mentioned  in  our  text 
should  be  added  logs  of  various  steamers,  found  in  N.  Dak.  His.  Soc.  Col.,  Vol. 
II,  pp.  267-371. 


[264]  'v 


TRIMBLE — MINING  ADVANCE  129 

dise.  For  the  interior  points  there  were  boxes  of  drygoods  and 
clothing,  barrels  of  liquor,  sacks  of  provisions,  cases  of  mining 
tools,  and  quartz  mills ;  for  the  down  trade  there  were  buffalo  hides 
and  peltries  of  all  sorts.  Every  warehouse  was  jammed  with 
goods,  and  private  dwellings  were  used  as  warehouses.  The  safes 
of  the  town  were  taxed  to  their  utmost  capacity  to  store  gold 
dust  as  it  was  brought  in,  and  precious  packages  were  sometimes 
carelessly  left  in  stores.  One  steamer  bore  away  $1,250,000  in 
gold.  In  the  streets  of  the  town  was  a  throng  of  varied  and 
picturesque  humanity:  lumbermen  from  Minnesota  and  farmers 
from  many  parts  of  the  great  valley;  confederate  sympathizers 
from  Missouri  and  Union  men  from  the  Western  Reserve ;  miners 
from  the  Pacific  Coast  and  "fur-traders  and  hunters  of  the  van- 
ishing Northwestern  wilderness",  Indians  of  many  tribes;  des- 
peradoes and  lovers  of  order ;  miners,  traders,  clergymen,  specu- 
lators, land-seekers,  government  officials — all  the  exuberant  array 
of  the  American  frontier.  Freight  wagons,  consisting  of  two 
or  three  wagons  coupled  together,  and  drawn  by  a  dozen  or  more 
oxen  or  mules,  rumbled  ceaselessly  through  the  streets.  Not  less 
than  six  hundred  outfits  participated  in  this  traffic.  The  area 
to  which  it  ministered  was  extensive ;  not  only  did  the  Ft.  Ben- 
ton  trade  supply  the  wide  semicircle  of  the  camps  of  Western 
Montana,  but  in  its  outer  limits  it  touched  British  Columbia, 
Calgary,  and  Edmonton. 

Another  interesting  phase  of  the  business  of  Ft.  Benton,  the 
mackinaw  fleet,  is  described  by  an  able  writer  as  follows : — ' '  The 
steamboat  season  over  and  the  freight  distributed,  the  mackinaw 
season  set  in.  At  all  seasons  of  the  year  when  the  river  was 
open  mackinaws  were  to  be  found  descending  it;  but  it  was  in 
September  that  the  great  rush  commenced.  Then,  as  winter  ap- 
proached, the  successful  miners  who  had  accumulated  wealth  and 
the  unsuccessful  who  were  discouraged  and  disheartened  be- 
stirred themselves  to  escape  from  the  country.  Thronging  to 
Ft.  Benton  they  rendered  the  levee  the  scene  of  renewed  activity. 
Scores  of  rough  boats  sprang  into  existence  and  day  after  day 
they  would  push  off  with  a  crew  of  from  half  a  dozen  to  thirty 
and  forty  souls,  sometimes  single,  sometimes  in  flotillas,  and  drop 
down  the  river  to  various  points  from  Sioux  City  to  Saint  Louis. 

[265.]   \ 


130  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

"In  the  neighborhood  of  200  boats  and  1200  passengers  would 
thus  sail  from  Benton  annually.  These  boats  were  usually  broad, 
flat-bottomed  crafts,  with  square  sterns  and  roughly  built,  to  be 
sold  as  lumber  or  abandoned  at  the  end  of  the  voyage.  They 
were  supplied  with  oars  and  sometimes  sails,  but  the  rapid  cur- 
rent of  the  river  was  relied  upon  for  the  main  progress  *  *  * 
Under  favorable  circumstances  a  hundred  miles  a  day  was  ac- 
complished in  these  vessels.  Frequent  running  aground,  danger 
from  Indians  and  occasional  shipwrecks  were  among  the  inci- 
dents of  the  voyage,  and  the  party  was  fortunate  that  got  through 
without  any  mishap. '  '41 

In  addition  to  the  emigrants  who  went  to  the  mining  regions 
from  the  East  on  the  Missouri  steamboats,  there  was  a  very  large 
movement  by  the  overland  trails:  "It  was  estimated  that  the 
migration  in  1864  from  the  one  town  of  Omaha  amounted  to 
75,000  people,  22,500  tons  of  freight,  30,000  horses  and  mules, 
and  75,000  cattle,  while  all  authorities  seem  to  agree  that  the 
total  migration  from  all  the  Missouri  Eiver  towns,  through  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska  by  all  routes,  equaled  150,000  people."42  Of 
this  number  certainly  a  very  considerable  proportion  was  des- 
tined for  the  northwest  mines.  Rev.  Jonathan  Blanchard 
thought  that  two-thirds  of  the  twenty-four  thousand  immigrants 
who  had  preceded  him  in  1864  on  the  trail  to  Laramie  were  bound 
for  Idaho.43  While  thus  the  old  Oregon  trail,  because  of  its 


41  Bradley,   Lieut.   Jas.   H.,   Effects  at  Ft.   Benton  of  the  Gold  Excitement  in 
Montana,  MS.     Besides  this  article,   I  have  used  for  the   last  two  paragraphs, 
Hanson,  The  Conquest  of  the  Missouri,  Chap.  X  and  Ferguson,  H.  A.  V.,  Ft.  Ben- 
ton  Memories,  MS.     Mention   should   also   be   made   of  Chittenden,   H.   M.,    The 
Ancient  Town  of  Ft.  Benton  in  Montana.     See  also  Campbell,  J.  S. ;  Six  Months 
in  the  New  Gold  Diggings,  who  says,  "During  the  past  season   (1864)  an  immense 
emigration,   precendented  by  none  save  the  early  rush  to  the  Eldorado  of  the 
Pacific,    has   swelled    the   mountain   gorges   and   valleys    of   Montana."     It   was 
thought  that  between  75.000  and  100,000  persons  visited  Virginia  City  in  1864, 
of  whom  probably  four-fifths  returned  to  the  States,    (pp.  4  &  5)     The  adver- 
tisements  in    Campbell   give   an    idea    of   the    far-reaching   stimulus   to   eastern 
commercial  ganglia  and  to  railroads  which  the  mining  regions  gave.     Merchants 
of  Council   Bluffs,   Omaha,    St.   Joseph,    St.   Louis  and   Chicago  advertise   their 
facilities  for  outfitting  or  for  furnishing  manufactures ;  while  the  Hannibal  and 
St.  Joseph,   the  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  the  Michigan  Central  and  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Lines   call   attention   to  the   advantage   of  making   the   first   part  of   the 
trip  to  the  mines  over  their  routes. 

42  Fite,  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  in  the  North  during  the  Civil  Wary 
p.  39. 

43  Id.,  p.  38. 

[266] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  131 

good  grass  and  comparatively  easy  grades,  maintained  a  clear 
supremacy  among  the  overland  routes,  two  other  routes  are  of 
special  interest  from  the  point  of  view  of  this  study.  These  are 
the  northern  route  to  Montana  and  the  route  to  British  Colum- 
bia,44 

It  was  the  Salmon  River  excitement  of  1861-2  that  first  started 
migration  by  the  northern  route  from  Minnesota.  In  that 
year  two  large  parties  made  their  way  over  the  plains  from 
rendezvous  on  the  Red  River  of  the  north.  The  first  started 
from  St.  Joseph  (now  Walhalla,  N.  D.),  and  the  other  from  Ft. 
Abercrombie;  both  went  by  way  of  Ft.  Union.45  The  second 
was  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Jas.  L.  Fisk,  to  whom  this  duty 
was  assigned  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  one  of  Fisk's  assist- 
ants was  N.  P.  Langford.46  Fisk's  work  was  of  the  same  nature 
as  that  performed  by  Capt.  Medoram  Crawford  in  the  same  year 
on  the  southern  route :  "To  afford  protection  to  these  emigrants, 
and  at  the  same  time  test  the  practicability  of  this  northern  route 
for  future  emigration",  were  stated  to  be  the  objects  of  the  ex- 
pedition. It  consisted  of  140  persons,  most  of  whom  were  Minne- 
sota frontiersmen.  In  constructing  bridges  these  expert  lumber- 
men would  swim  the  streams,  hats  on  head  and  pipes  in  mouth, 
in  order  to  float  the  logs  to  place,  and  handled  the  axe  and  the 
spade-like  playthings.  The  numbers  of  buffalo  seen  on  the  way 
were  prodigious,  Fisk  estimating  the  number  seen  in  one  day 
at  100,000.  The  party  arrived  safely  at  Ft.  Benton,  but  in- 
stead of  proceeding  to  Salmon  River  scattered  to  the  newly  dis- 
covered diggings  of  western  Idaho-47 

In  spite  of  the  Sioux  outbreak  of  1862  another  successful  ex- 
pedition under  Capt.  Fisk  was  made  in  1863.48  The  expedition 
of  1864,  however,  failed  to  go  through,  being  attacked  by  Indians 
in  the  Bad  Lands,  from  whom  it  was  rescued  by  troops  of  Gen- 
eral Sully.  Another  under  Fisk,  unsupported  by  the  govern- 


44  The  Bozeman  road  may  be  regarded  as  a  branch  of  the  Oregon  trail. 

45  For  account  of  the  first  see  N.  Dak.  His.  Soc.  Collections,  Vol.  II,  pp.  75-78. 

46  Author  of  Vigilante  Days  and  Ways  and  important  promoter  of  Yellowstone 
Park,  now  a  resident  of  St.  Paul.     The  World  Today,  May,  1911,   pp.  598-99, 
giyps  an  account  of  Mr.  Langford's  personality  and  work. 

47  A  reprint  of  Fisk's  report   (Ex.  Doc.  No.  80,  37th  Cong.,  third  Sess.)   is  in 
N.  Dak.  His.  8oc.  Col.  Vol.  II,  App.  pp.  34-72. 

48  Id.,  App.  pp.  78-85. 

[267] 


132  BULLETIN   OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

ment,  took  the  shape  of  an  imposing  scheme  for  the  promotion  of 
town-building  and  mining  on  the  Upper  Yellowstone,  but  this 
expedition  failed  to  materialize.  The  last  of  Fisk's  expeditions, 
that  of  1866,  "was  different  from  any  of  the  preceding  in  its 
larger  size,  in  the  absence  of  government  aid  and  from  the  fact 
that  for  many  it  was  a  commercial  venture,  not  a  gold  hunting 
trip."49 

In  all  of  these  expeditions  St.  Paul  took  an  active  interest. 
Indeed,  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  mining  rushes  the  busi- 
ness men  of  this  city  planned  for  overland  routes,  for  connection 
with  the  Eed  River  of  the  North,  and  for  development  of  trade 
with  the  Selkirk  settlements  and  the  regions  beyond.  The  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  of  St.  Paul  "declared  that  the  city's  whole 
commercial  future  was  projected  with  the  far  Northwest  in 
view."50 

When  we  consider  the  overland  route  to  British  Columbia,  we 
come  likewise  upon  large  conceptions  and  the  beginnings  of  great 
things.  Immediately  upon  the  organization  of  British  Columbia, 
Sir  Edward  Bulwer  Lytton  "proclaimed  in  the  name  of  the  gov- 
ernment, the  policy  of  continuous  colonies  from  Lake  Superior 
to  the  Pacific  and  a  highway  across  British  America  as  the  most 
direct  route  from  London  to  Pekin  or  Jeddo. '  '51  From  this  time 
onward  there  was  constant  discussion  in  British  Columbia,  Can- 
ada, and  Great  Britian  concerning  the  Great  Inter-oceanic  Rail- 
way.52 Attention  was  called  to  the  possession  of  fine  ports  at 
either  end  of  the  line — Halifax  and  Esquimault — and  to  great 
coal  deposits  near  them.  At  least  one  man,  however,  with  re- 
markable prescience,  thought  that  Burrard's  Inlet,  the  present 


49  Id.,  p.  450.     Original  documents  concerning  the  last  three  expeditions  are 
found  in  works  cited,  pp.  442-461.     In  addition  to  the  desire  to  hunt  gold,  im- 
migrants  from   Minnesota   were   impelled   by   general   discontent   of    the   border 
counties  in   the  years   following  the   Sioux   outbreaks   and  the   Civil  War.     On 
this  aspect  consult   Hilger,   David,   Overland    Trail,   Con.   His.   Soc.   Mont.,  Vol. 
VII,  pp.  257-270. 

50  Fite,   Social  and  Industrial   Conditions   during   the    Civil   War,   p.    69.     See 
also  Puget  Sound  Herald,  Sept.  10,  1858. 

81  Relations  between  the  United  States  and  N.  W.  British  America,  Ex.  Doc., 
?>7th  Cong.,  3d.  Ses.,  Exhibit  D.,  St.  Paul,  April  17,  1861,  p.  27. 

52  The  titles  of  two  books  of  the  time  are  suggestive :  Rawling's  America 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  and  Milton  and  Cheadle,  The  Northivest  Passage 
by  Land. 

[268] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  133 

location  of  Vancouver,  was  destined  to  be  the  great  port  of  the 
Pacific,  rather  than  Victoria.53  Rivalry  with  the  United  States 
in  the  building  of  a  transcontinental  line  was  a  conspicuous  mo- 
tive, and  mention  was  made  of  the  desirability  of  the  railroad 
in  case  of  war  with  the  United  States.  The  designs  of  France 
in  Mexico,  also,  were  regarded  with  suspicion  and  it  was  sug- 
gested that  one  object  of  the  French  Emperor  in  acquiring  Mex- 
ico was  to  bid  for  the  Oriental  trade  by  building  a  railroad  from 
Vera  Cruz  to  Acapulco  and  putting  on  a  line  of  steamers  from 
the  latter  port  to  China  and  Japan.54  The  importance  of  the 
Red  River  settlements  and  of  the  great  country  westward  from 
them  was  dilated  upon,  and  Lytton  wanted  to  erect  these  into 
an  independent  colony;  but  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  pos- 
sessed these  lands  by  charter  (not  by  license  to  trade,  as  in  the 
case  of  British  Columbia),  and  the  Company  naturally  was  slow 
to  fall  in  with  changes  which  might  interfere  with  the  fur  trade.55 
A  project  more  generally  favored  than  that  of  making  the  Sel- 
kirk settlements  a  Crown  colony  was  that  of  incorporating  them 
into  a  union  of  all  the  British  North  American  possessions.  All 
of  these  plans  received  fresh  impulse  when,  in  1862,  the  magnifi- 
cent Cariboo  field  put  British  Columbia  finally  on  its  feet,  and 
the  announcement  was  made  of  the  discovery  of  gold  on  the  up- 
per Saskatchewan.  British  Columbia  was  to  be  another  Cali- 
fornia and  the  Saskatchewan  field  another  Colorado.  It  is  im- 
portant for  the  student  of  the  history  of  these  movements  to 
realize  in  addition  to  the  really  remarkable  achievements  of  the 
period,  the  glamour  and  enticement  of  the  seemingly  roseate  im- 
mediate future. 

While  full  fruition  of  these  aspirations  was  to  be  postponed 
for  another  generation,  some  interesting  and  important  steps 


53  "I  have  more  than  once  discussed  the  feasibility  of  this  grand  scheme  with 
Colonel  Moody,  of  the  Royal   Engineers — a  question  in  which  he  felt  great  in- 
terest.    His   fixed   idea   always   was   that    Burrard's    Inlet,    from   its    situation,, 
depth  of  water,  and  other  natural   advantages,   was   destined  to   be    the  great 
emporium  of  commerce  on  the  Pacific,  at  the  terminus  of  the  railway."     Barret- 
Lennard,  Travels  in  British  Columbia,  pp.  181-2. 

54  Macfie,  Van  Id.  and  Br.  Col.  pp.  367-8. 

53  Report  of  Sir  Edmund  Head,  Governor  of  the  Company,  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and 
Br.  Col.  pp.  54-55.  The  company,  however,  shipped  wire  to  the  Selkirk  settle- 
ment for  a  telegraph  line  to  British  Columbia. 


[269] 


134  BULLETIN   OF  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF  WISCONSIN 

were  taken  in  the  decade  following  the  founding  of  British 
Columbia.  The  year  1859  witnessed  the  beginnings  of  steam- 
boat transportation  on  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  when  a  steam- 
boat was  brought  across  from  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi 
and  launched  in  Red  River  as  the  Anson  Northrup.  In  the 
same  year  the  Hudson 's  Bay  Company  established  a  town  on  the 
Minnesota  side  about  fifteen  miles  north  of  the  present  Fargo, 
North  Dakota,  and  named  the  new  town  Georgetown  in  honor 
of  Sir  George  Simpson,  then  Governor  of  Rupert's  Land.  A 
stage  line  was  put  on  by  Burbank  &  Company  between  George- 
town and  St.  Paul.  A  second  boat,  The  International,  was  built 
at  Georgetown  and  launched  in  1862.  Its  motto  was  "Germi- 
naverunt  speciosa  deserti, ' '  and  on  its  first  trip  it  took  150  miners 
>enroute  for  Cariboo.56 

For  the  organization  of  the  overland  route  two  interesting  com- 
panies were  promoted  and  chartered.  The  one,  whose  chief  pro- 
jector was  Mr.  W.  M.  Dawson,  was  called  The  Northwest  Trans- 
portation Company.  Its  mainspring  was  in  Canada,  where  there 
was  eager  desire  for  participation  in  the  traffic  with  British 
Columbia.57  This  company  proposed  to  establish  steam  commun- 
ication with  Ft.  William,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  and  then 
to  place  half-a-dozen  small  river  steamers  on  the  chain  of  rivers 
and  lakes  which  run  from  that  to  the  foot  of  Ihe  Rocky  Mountains 
with  a  few  easily  surmounted  portages.58  The  last  phase  suggests 
the  inadequacy  of  the  conceptions  with  regard  to  the  new  regions 
which  was  even  more  conspicuous  in  the  English  plans  of  the 
time  than  in  the  Canadian.  In  England  there  was  largeness 
and  elaborateness  of  projection  in  regard  to  the  new  countries 
and  the  ways  of  getting  there,  but  also  a  certain  fumbling  incapa- 
bility of  execution  or  of  grasping  real  conditions,  which  was  in 
marked  contrast  to  the  straightforward,  quickly  adjustable  en- 
terprise of  Americans.  It  was  simply  the  difference,  of  course, 


58  The  foregoing  data  are  from  a  Sketch  of  the  Northwest  of  America  by  Mgr. 
Tache,  Bishop  of  St.  Boniface  in  1868.  We  should  not  over  rate  the  part  of  the 
mining  country  in  bringing  about  these  beginnings  of  transportation  because 
the  time  had  about  arrived,  anyhow,  when  the  Selkirk  settlements  had  to  hav» 
better  communications  with  St.  Paul. 

57  Canadian  News,  Mar.  20,  1862,  quoted  in  Hazlitt's  Cariboo,  pp.  92-3. 

6S  Hazlitt's  Cariboo,  pp.  105-6. 

;  [270] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  135 

between  those  who  were  familiar  with  conditions  and  those  who 
were  not.     This  characteristic  was  well  illustrated  in  the  British 
Columbia  Overland  Transit  Company,  Ltd.,  which  was  organized 
in  London  with  a  proposed  capital  of  half  a  million  pounds  and 
an  imposing  directorate  of  ' '  eminent ' '  and  ' '  respectable ' '  names. 
The  object  was  "to  establish  a  transport  system  for  mails  and 
passengers  by  carts  and  relays  of  horses"  to  British  Columbia. 
The  route  was  to  be  by  Montreal,  St.  Paul,  Pembina,  Carlton 
House,  and  Edmonton.     The  time  from  England  to  the  gold 
diggings  was  to  be  about  five  weeks.     In  regard  to  this  time  a 
correspondent  of  the  Times,   "Canada  West",  wrote  that  the 
shortest  time  would  be  three  months,  more  likely  four  or  five, 
and  perhaps  all  winter.     To  this  Secretary  Henson,  of  the  com- 
pany, replied  that  "  'Canada  West'  proves  that  his  calculations 
are  based  on  thorough  ignorance.    For  instance,  he  gives  ten  days 
from  St.  Paul  to  Red  River;  whereas  two  days  is  the  time  now 
occupied  by  the  steamers  which  run  on  the  Red  River  from 
Georgetown  to  Ft.  Garry."     [The  Secretary  seemed  to  think 
the  distance  from  St.  Paul  to  Georgetown  negligible.]     "Canada 
West"  replied  that  last  season  he  had  journeyed  from  St.  Paul 
to  Georgetown,  that  the  trip  occupied  four  days,  and  that  thence 
to  Ft.  Garry  by  steamer  took  three  or  four  days  more.     Still 
another  correspondent  sent  a  letter  from  his  brother  stating 
that  he  had  made  the  trip  from  Red  River  to  Victoria,  but  that 
it  had  taken  seven  months  and  that  he  had  nearly  starved  to 
death  on  the  road.59     Several  parties  of  considerable  size  did 
go  through  to  Cariboo  from  St.  Paul  by  the  overland  route,  most 
with  success,  but  some  with  death  and  suffering.     The  Victoria 
Colonist,  however,  summarized  the  route  by  saying  that  the  way 
was  easy  to  the  Rockies,  but  extremely  difficult  thence  to  Cariboo, 
and  that  there  was  a  tendency  to  go  down  the  Columbia  via  Col- 
ville  and  Portland.60     The  Overland  Transit   Company  seems 
to  have  vanished  without  accomplishing  anything.     The  signifi- 


69  These  letters  are  republished  in  McDonald,  Br.  Col.  and  Van.  Id.  pp.  403-417. 
Their  details  seem  unimportant,  but  they  illustrate  the  interest  taken  in  Eng- 
land in  the  projected  route. 

60  Barret-Lennard,  Travels  in  British  Columbia,  pp.  187-198  ;  London  Times, 
Jan.  1,  1863;  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Aug.  1,  1863;  McNaughton,  Mar- 
garet, Overland  to  Cariboo,  (a  journey  of  1862). 

,   [271] 


136  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

cance  of  all  these  attempts  and  aspirations  lies  in  their  realization 
in  the  great  railway  system  which,  in  a  unified  Canada,  stretches 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, — the  only  complete  interoceanic 
railway. 

There  remains  to  be  considered  the  ocean  routes  by  which 
immigrants  went  from  England  to  British  Columbia.  Most  of 
the  many  books  published  in  the  mother  country  at  this  time 
concerning  the  new  colony  discuss  the  routes  thither,  compare 
cost  of  passage  and  give  detailed  directions.61  In  this  respect 
they  were  like  the  numerous  emigrants'  guides  in  the  United 
States.  The  two  routes  most  favorably  mentioned  were  the  one 
by  way  of  St.  Thomas,  Panama,  and  San  Francisco,  which  was 
held  to  be  the  shorter,  but  the  more  expensive;  and  the  other 
around  the  Horn,  which  was  thought  to  be  the  cheaper  and  more 
suitable,  therefore,  for  families.  Alternative  routes  were  to  go 
to  New  York  and  thence  to  Aspinwall,  or  to  proceed  from  the 
former  city  across  the  continent.  The  whole  transportation  bus- 
iness from  Panama  to  San  Francisco  and  from  there  to  Victoria 
was  controlled  by  Americans — a  fact  deplored  in  the  British 
Colonies,  particularly  with  respect  to  the  mails.62 

The  effects  of  the  mining  advance  into  the  Inland  Empire,  it 
may  be  safely  asserted,  were  widely  distributed  among  agencies 
of  trade  and  transportation.  Perhaps  the  movement  in  this 
respect  might  be  likened  to  an  immense  spider's  web,  throwing 
out  from  a  central  area  of  intense  activity  far  reaching  cords. 


•  For  example,  Macfle,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.  pp.  519-26 ;  Rattray,  Van.  Id. 
and  Br.  Col.  pp.  177-82. 

62  The  cost  of  transportation  to  British  Columbia  was  greater  than  to  any 
other  British  Colony.  Passage  from  London  to  New  Zealand  or  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  cost  £20  and  to  Australia  £16.  whereas  to  Victoria,  via  the  Horn  it  cost 
£30  and  via  Panama  £77  ;  colonization  circular  issued  by  Her  Majesty's  Emi- 
gration Commissioners,  in  McDonald,  Br.  Col.  and  Van.  Id.,  p.  469. 


[272] 


PART  III 
SOCIAL  ASPECTS  OF  THE  MINING  ADVANCE 


[2731 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  139 


CHAPTER  IX 

COMPONENTS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  SOCIETY 

The  elements  of  population  which  composed  the  mining  ad- 
vance will  be  the  first  subject  of  inquiry  in  this  chapter. 

One  fact  stands  out  prominently,  and  that  is  that  the  popu- 
lation was  very  heterogeneous.  In  addition  to  an  original  basis 
of  French  half-breeds  and  of  mountain-men,  representatives 
from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and  from  every  quarter  of 
the  globe  were  to  be  found, — Americans,  Canadians,  Englishmen, 
Germans,  Frenchmen,  Italians,  Spanish,  Chinese,  Mexicans, 
Chilanos,  Australians,  Hawaiians.  One  observer  of  the  throngs 
wrote:  "Within  a  few  hours,  I  have  met  in  the  streets  of  Vic- 
toria persons  who  had  respectively  crossed  the  Andes,  ascended 
Mont  Blanc,  fought  in  the  Crimea,  explored  the  Northwest  pass- 
age, seen  Pekin,  ransacked  Mexican  antiquities,  lived  on  the 
coast  of  Africa,  revelled  in  the  luxuries  of  India,  witnessed  Se- 
poys blown  from  British  guns,  wintered  in  Petersburg,  and  en- 
gaged in  buffalo  hunts  on  the  great  prairies  of  North  America. ' n 
In  estimating  the  intelligence  of  the  mining  population  account 
should  be  taken  of  the  extensiveness  of  the  miners'  travels  and 
of  the  diversities  of  their  contacts. 

As  to  the  proportions  of  the  different  elements  in  the  popula- 
tion we  may  gain  some  general  ideas,  but  we  can  arrive  at  no 
precise  figures.  When  the  first  steamer  from  San  Francisco 
arrived  at  Victoria  in  the  Fraser  River  rush,  she  had  on  board 
400  men  enroute  for  the  mines ;  of  this  number  there  were  about 
sixty  British  subjects,  with  an  equal  number  of  native-born 
Americans,  the  rest  being  chiefly  Germans,  with  a  smaller  pro- 
portion of  Frenchmen  and  Italians.2  The  Victoria  Gazette  stated 


1  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  p.  412. 

2  Despatch  of  Gov.  Douglas,  Cornwallis,  New  Eldorado,  p.  357. 


[275] 


140  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

that,  of  the  whole  number  of  passengers  carried  up  to  July,  1858, 
by  the  Surprise — the  principal  steamer  then  running  up  Fraser; 
River — nearly  one-half  were  Irish  and  a  large  proportion  Italian 
and  French,  but  added  that  in  July  more  Americans  were  com- 
ing. The  proportion  of  Irishmen  was  particularly  noticeable^ 
also,  in  southern  Idaho.  The  population  at  The  Dalles  (which; 
was  an  index  to  that  of  the  upper  country)  was  said  to  have  been 
composed  of  "Saxon,  Celt,  Teuton,  Gaul,  Greaser,  Celestial  andp 
Indian".3  Statistics  from  Port  Douglas,  in  British  Columbia! 
give  the  following  data  for  a  population  numbering  206. 

Coloured  men 8 

Mexicans  and  Spaniards   29 

Chinese    37 

French  and  Italians 16 

Central  Europe 4 

Northern  Europe    4 

Citizens  of  the  United  States 73 

British   subjects    354 

A  census  of  Ft.  Hope  in  1861  showed  55  British  subjects  and 
111  foreigners.  It  is  certain  that  in  British  Columbia  during  | 
the  mining  period  the  British  element  in  the  population  was 
greatly  in  the  minority,  and  that  the  largest  single  ingredient  of 
population  was  furnished  by  citizens  of  the  United  States.5  More- 
over, a  very  large  proportion  of  the  men  engaged  in  the  mining 
rushes — possibly  not  far  from  one-half — were  not  Americans  or 
Britons;  and,  furthermore,  of  those  styled  Calif ornians,  (and 
hence  Americans)  a  very  large  proportion  were  of  other  than 
Anglo-Saxon  nativity.  If  these  facts  be  true,  then  we  may 
fairly  raise  the  question  whether  the  enterprise,  adventurous- 
ness,  and  adaptability  which  were  characteristics  of  the  mining 
population — and,  especially  the  spontaneity  which  was  shown 


3  San  Francisco  Bulletin,  Nov.  13,  1862. 

4  Paper  by  Rev.  Mr.  Gammage  quoted  by  McDonald,  Br.  Col.  and  Van  Id.,  p.  166. 

5  "Our  American  friends  especially  are  our  pioneer  miners,  our  principal  trad- 
ers and  our  chief  packers."     Colonist.  Jan.  2,  1862.     "The  tone  of  society   has 
become  decidedly  more  British  since  1859  ;  but  still,  as  then  the  American  ele- 
ment prevails."     Macfie,  Van.  Id.  &  Br.  Col.,  p.  379. 

[276] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  141 

In  working  out  the  laws  of  the  mining  camps, — were  quite  so 
peculiarly  Anglo-Saxon  as  has  been  thought.6 

While  the  mining  camps  were  very  heterogeneous  in  popula- 
tion, still,  certain  elements  are  more  conspicuous  in  some  places 
than  elsewhere.  In  British  Columbia,  after  the  opening  of  Cari- 
boo, English,  Cornish,  Scotch  and  Welch  were  to  be  met  with 
more  numerously  than  in  other  parts  of  the  mining  areas.  So, 
too,  Oregonians  (and  men  from  the  Sound)  were  distinguished 
in  the  Nez  Perces  mines,  Missourians  and  Pike's  Peakers  in  Boise 
Basin,  and  people  from  Minnesota  in  Montana.  This  does  not 
mean,  of  course,  that  other  elements  were  not  present  in  all  these 
camps.  In  the  Montana  camps,  in  particular,  there  was  a  curious 
mingling  of  eastern  '  *  tenderf eet "  and  western  ' '  yon-siders ", 
who  were  amused  at  each  others '  lingo ;  the  tapaderas  of  the  lat- 
ter were  to  the  former  toe-fenders — machiers,  saddle-scabbards — 
cantinas,  handy-bags.7  But  whatever  elements  of  population 
prevailed  in  one  or  the  other  place,  there  was  one  everywhere 
present,  everywhere  respected,  everywhere  vital — the  Calif ornian. 
To  Fraser  River,  Cariboo,  Kootenay;  John  Day,  Boise,  Alder 
Gulch,  Helena,  went  the  adopted  sons  of  California — youngest 
begetter  of  colonies, — carrying  with  them  the  methods,  the  cus- 
toms, and  the  ideas  of  the  mother  region,  and  retaining  for  it  not 
a  little  of  love  and  veneration.  " Idaho",  said  the  World,  "is 
but  the  colony  of  California.  What  England  is  to  the  world, 
what  the  New  England  states  have  been  to  the  West,  California 
has  been  and  still  is  to  the  country  west  of  the  Great  Plains. 
Her  people  have  swept  in  successive  waves  over  every  adjacent 
district  from  Durango  to  the  Yellowstone.  She  is  the  mother 
of  these  Pacific  States  and  Territories. '  '8 


6  It  seems  to  the  author  that,   while  the  British  people  have  shown   marked 
efficiency  in   seizing  new  lands  for  colonies  and  in  governing  them,    they  have 
shown  no  special  aptitude  as  colonists.     From  1660  onward  the  immigration  to 
the  colonies  now  forming  the   United  States  was  largely  continental ;  and  the 
Amerilan  frontiersman  was  not  an  Englishman,  although  often  of  English  ante- 
cedents.    The  western  Canada  of  today  would  lack  much  in  its  population,    if 
the  American  pioneers  were  not  there. 

7  Owyhee  Avalanche,  Nov.   11.   1865. 

'Idaho  World,  July  15  and  Oct.  14,  18(55.  The  career  of  Henry  Comstock, 
who  gave  his  name  to  perhaps  the  greatest  lode  known  in  history,  was  typical 
In  wanderings  of  that  of  many  Californians  ;  though,  we  may  hope,  not  typical 
in  its  ill-fortune.  Comstoci;  in  1862  struck  a  quartz  lead  at  John  Day  (S.  F. 

[277] 


142  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Another  element  of  population  represented  everywhere,  but 
often  entirely  overlooked  in  characterizing  the  mining  popula- 
tion, was  that  of  the  women — and  we  mean  here  respectable 
women.  It  is  true  that  a  large  majority  of  the  population  was 
made  up  of  men,  especially  at  the  beginning  of  a  rush,  but  al- 
ways some  women  began  soon  to  arrive  and  formed  in  many 
districts  an  appreciable  element.  Some  of  the  women  were  sur- 
vivors of  the  fur-trading  regime  and  were  to  be  found  at  the 
old  posts ;  as  a  general  thing,  also,  there  were  pretty  sure  to  be 
women  at  the  road  houses  and  stopping  places.  So,  early  in  the 
winter  of  1862-3,  in  the  region  now  known  as  Montana,  out  of  a 
total  listed  population  of  670,  59  were  respectable  females ;  and  in 
the  years  immediately  succeeding  numbers  of  the  most  venerated 
of  the  pioneer  women  of  Montana  came.9  Southern  Idaho,  as 
has  been  mentioned  before,  was  conspicuous  for  the  number 
families  residing  there,  many  of  which  had  left  Missouri  because 
of  war  troubles.  In  the  Grande  Ronde  Valley  and  at  Auburn 
a  young  single  man  had  quite  good  chances  of  getting  a  wife 
from  immigrant  girls.  At  Victoria,  besides  ladies  in  the  fam- 
ilies of  citizens,  a  cargo  or  two  of  young  women,  according  to  the 
custom  of  new  colonies,  was  brought  from  England.  Even  in 
far-away  Cariboo  there  was  a  kindly  Mrs.  Lee  to  extend  help  to 
the  minister's  wife  in  her  time  of  greatest  need,  and  ever  and 
anon  on  his  travels  the  minister  found  it  pleasant  to  see  a 
"sonsie"  Scotchwoman  beaming  a  welcome  and  to  hear  her 
Scots  tongue.10  Another  indication  of  the  presence  of  women 
was  that  a  good  many  divorces  were  granted  by  legislatures ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  in  all  the  papers  almost  from  their  first 
issues  were  notices  of  marriages.  It  is  true,  however,  that  most 


Daily  Bulletin.,  Aug.  29,  1862)  ;  at  Christmas  he  was  in  Auburn  (Id.  Jan.  2, 
1863)  ;  the  next  fall  found  him  at  Alturas,  near  Boise,  where  he  was  running 
five  arastras  and  a  saw  mill.  (Id.  Aug.  30,  1864.)  In  1868  he  resided  in  Butte 
City,  his  intellect  darkened,  but  his  hand  still  skilful  and  his  heart  sympathetic 
for  the  poor.  lie  worked  a  small  claim,  but  imagined  that  he  still  owned  the 
Comstock  lode  (Mineral  Resources,  1868,  p.  505.)  At  last,  1870,  he  shot  him- 
self at  Bozeman,  and  his  body  was  found  in  a  hole  back  of  the  jail,  not  a  cent 
in  his  pocket.  He  was  buried  at  the  county  expense  (Anaconda  Standard,. 
Dec.  16,  1900). 

9  Contributions  Historical  Society  of  Montana,  Vol.  I,  pp.  334-54. 

10  Occasional  Papers,  Columbian  Mission,  Report  for  1869,  pp.  64  and  69. 


[278] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  143 

I  ladies  were  to  be  found  in  the  families  of  professional  men,  mer- 
I  chants,  and  farmers,  because  the  miners  themselves  were  too 
I  roving  to  get  married,  but  there  were  some  exceptions.  At  any 
I  rate,  it  seems  worth  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  dearth 
I  of  good  women  in  the  mining  regions  was  not  so  complete  as  is 
,  often  assumed. 

There  are  two  classes  of  the  population,  the  negroes  and  the 
I  Chinese,  to  which  I  wish  to  give  separate  treatment;  to  the  one 
la  brief  statement,  to  the  other  more  extended  discussion. 

The  negroes  were  seldom,  if  ever,  found  in  the  mining  camps, 
I  but  about  four  hundred  of  them  came  early  in  the  mining  move- 
Iment  to  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia,  the  majority 
I  of  them  settling  in  Victoria.  They  came  from  California,  and 
•'their  purposes  as  explained  by  one  of  themselves,  were  as  follows : 

(1)  To  better  their  political  conditions,  since  in  California  they 

were  disfranchised  and  without  legal  protection  of  life 
and  property. 

(2)  Not  to  seek  "particular  associations",  but  to  "enjoy  those 

common  rights  which  civilized,  enlightened  and  well-regu- 
lated communities  guarantee  to  all  their  members." 

(3)  To  make  this  country  the  land  of  adoption  for  themselves 

and  their  children.11 

By  working  at  draying  and  like  employments  and  investing 
their  savings  in  land,  many  of  these  colored  people  became  well- 
to-do.  Clergymen  fresh  from  England  or  Canada,  took  high 
philanthropic  and  religious  grounds  toward  them,  although  the 
Bishop  noted  that  the  negroes  found  it  difficult  to  get  used  to  the 
ways  of  the  Church  of  England,  since  they  had  been  reared  Bap- 
tists and  Methodists.  But  trouble  arose  with  the  white  Ameri- 
cans, notwithstanding  that  most  of  these  in  British  Columbia 
were,  during  the  war,  ardent  supporters  of  the  Union ;  and  there 
was  a  serious  riot  in  a  theatre.  The  whites  remonstrated,  also,  at 
admitting  colored  people  to  the  churches,  and,  when  one  zealous 
divine  took  up  the  cause  of  Africa  and  coloured  people  flocked  to 
him,  the  whites  left — promptly  to  be  followed  by  the  negroes,  in 


11  Letter  of  J.  J.  Moore,  British  Colonist,  Feb.  5,  1859. 

[279] 


144  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


order  to  be  in  a  more  fashionable  church.12     But  the  latter  were 
treated  by  the  English  officials  as  any  other  citizens  were  treated. 

The  Chinese  were  a  very  important  economic  part  of  the  min- 
ing advance,  but  not  of  it  socially.  Sooner  or  later  they  were 
found  in  every  town,  along  every  trail,  in  every  mining  camp. 
Debarred  from  the  camps  so  long  as  claims  paid  "wages"  or  bet- 
ter, they  were  welcomed  later  to  buy  the  claims,  once  washed, 
which  no  white  miner  would  consent  to  touch.  There  was  great 
hostility  to  them  because  of  their  lowering  wages  and  living 
hardly,  but  the  time  was  sure  to  come  when  the  miners'  meeting 
of  every  district  would  admit  these  patient,  quiet,  laborious  men, 
clothed  in  cheap  garments.  It  was  seldom  that  the  Chinaman 
worked  for  the  white  man,  but  he  often  paid  large  sums  for  his 
claim — as  high  in  some  cases  as  $8,000 — and  he  paid  in  cash,  or 
the  white  owner  of  the  claim  took  out  of  the  sluice  boxes  each 
Saturday  night  a  certain  amount  until  paid.  The  Chinese  were 
not  so  skillful  as  the  Americans  in  the  use  of  machinery,  but 
their  industry  enabled  them  to  extract  much  gold  from  the 
abandoned  claims.  Undoubtedly  America  owes  considerable  to 
them  for  saving  treasure  which  might  otherwise  have  been  wasted. 
Of  their  numbers  it  is  hard  to  get  a  just  estimate.  In  Montana 
they  were  thought  to  number  800  in  1869,  and  in  British  Colum- 
bia in  1868  they  numbered  1800  out  of  a  total  population  of 
13,800  and  in  Vancouver  Island  200.13  As  camps  waxed  old  in 
the  American  territories,  the  Chinamen  generally  outnumbered 
the  whites.  A  pioneer  states  that  twelve  hundred  of  them  came 
into  Warren's  Diggings,  when  they  were  allowed  to  come.14 

Many  of  them  came  direct  from  China,  but  many  also  from 
California.  They  were  generally  brought  in  droves  by  some 
Chinese  contractor;  for  example,  forty  Chinese  were  sent  to 
Idaho  from  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  at  one  time  by  Yong  Wo  and 
Company.15  The  men  sometimes  were  contracted,  sometimes 
bought,  and  sometimes  kidnapped.16  The  masters  provided  the 


12  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col,  pp.  388-392. 

13  Mineral  Resources,  1869,   p.  140.     Despatch  of  Gov.  Seymour  Feb.  17,  1866 
in  Churchill  and  Cooper,  British  Columbia  and  Van.  Id.   p.  21. 

14  Hofen,  Leo,  His.  of  Idaho  County,  MS.,  p.  4. 

15  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  May  19,  1865. 

16  McDonald,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  CoL,  pp.  299-300. 

[280] 


TRIMBLE—MINING  ADVANCE 


145 


outfit  and  required  both,  repayment  of  expenses  and  profits  for 
themselves.17  Not  all,  however,  were  coolies,  for  there  were  not 
a  few  fine  looking  and  independent  men.  Numbers  of  the 
Chinese,  as  usual,  engaged  in  the  laundry  business,  and  some  in 
other  forms  of  business  or  in  farming.  A  flourishing  colony  of 
them  congregated  on  Pandora  Street,  Victoria.  A  good  many 
of  them  everywhere  became  well-to-do  and  some  wealthy,  but 
'others  lost  fortunes  gambling  after  the  fashion  of  the  whites.18 

In  the  treatment  accorded  them  by  the  whites  there  was  a  fair 
measure  of  equality  before  the  law.  In  British  Columbia,  of 
course,  the  Chinaman  was  treated  with  perfect  civic  equality, 
and  in  American  territories  there  are  records  of  white  men  being 
brought  to  trial  and  convicted  for  assaulting  or  killing  them.19 
But  in  the  matter  of  taxation  there  was  a  decided  difference :  in 
British  Columbia  a  Chinese  miner  paid  the  same  tax  as  any  other 
miner,  while  in  the  American  territories  he  was  singled  out  for 
exceptional  and  heavy  taxation.  In  Idaho  a  law  was  passed 
(styled  a  law  for  taxing  foreign  miners  and  copied  directly  from 
the  California  law)  which  required  every  Mongolian  to  pay  a  tax 
of  $5.00  per  month ;  if  the  tax  were  not  paid,  the  property  could 
be  sold  on  three  hours  notice.20  Moreover,  the  law  included  as 
foreign  miners  all  Mongolians,  whatever  their  occupations, — a 
provision,  however,  later  declared  invalid  by  the  courts.21 
Yet  the  Chinese  miners  were  forced  to  pay  the  exceptional  tax 
and,  moreover,  were  sometimes  robbed  by  officials  under  guise  of 

watchmen"  and  "collectors."22  For  the  regular  tax,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  was  some  justification,  from  the  fact  that  China- 
men acquired  comparatively  little  property  which*  could  be 
reached  by  ordinary  taxation.  In  Montana  Chinamen  were 
taxed  by  a  law  compelling  all  male  persons  engaged  in  the  laundry 
business  to  pay  a  tax  of  fifteen  dollars  per  quarter;  "It  is  admit- 
ted," said  Gov.  Ashley,  "that  this  section  is  oppressive  and  was 
intended  to  compel  the  Chinaman  to  pay  an  unjust  tax."23 


"  London  Times,  March  25,  18G2. 

18  Reminiscences  of  Harvey,  A  Chinaman  at  Yale,  MS. 

»  Idaho  World,  Nov.  18,  1865. 

20  Goulder,  Reminiscences,  Chap.  49 ;  Idaho  World,  Feb.  3,  1866. 

81  Idaho  World,  March  24,  1866. 

^Knapp,  Statement  of  Events  in  Idaho,  MS.  p.  6. 

28  Contr.  His.  Soc.  If  on.,  Vol.  6,  p.  267. 

[281] 


146  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


The  white  miners  always  looked  on  the  Chinamen  as  inferiors. 
When  the  latter  were  admitted  into  the  John  Day  diggings,  the 
Dalles  Mountaineer  said:  "It  is  to  be  hoped  that  by  another 
year  each  honest  miner  in  this  country  will  have  his  dozen  coolies 
delving  in  his  claims.  There  is  an  eminent  fitness  in  this  relation 
of  the  races."24  Indeed  "foreigners"  to  the  miners  did  not 
mean  the  "  unnaturalized  Russian,  Greek,  Finn,  Frenchman,  or 
Irishman,"  but  the  Mongolian.25  In  Montana  it  was  thought 
that  the  public  was  undemonstrative  either  for  or  against  them ; 
although,  occasionally  "we  hear  of  outrages  inflicted  upon  some 
one  of  them  in  the  same  manner,  and  perhaps  as  frequently,  as 
dogs  or  cattle  are  maltreated."26  From  the  first  contact  with 
the  Mongolian  in  the  mining  regions,  therefore,  whether  justly  or 
unjustly,  there  has  been  a  feeling  with  regard  to  him  on  the  part 
of  the  whites,  different  to  that  held  toward  other  races.  But 
that  his  part  in  the  economic  development  of  those  regions  was  an 
important  one  admits  of  no  doubt.27 

Having  now  considered  the  various  elements  of  the  population, 
let  us  next  see  how  the  white  portion  of  it  lived. 

The  characteristic  abode  in  the  mining  regions  was  a  log  cabin, 
roofed  with  shakes  or  (particularly  in  Montana)  with  dirt.  In 
storms  the  latter  roof  leaked,  much  to  the  distress  of  lady  house- 
keepers. Green  cow-skins  were  often  nailed  on  the  floor  in  lieu 
of  carpets.  A  cabin  of  one  of  the  bachelor  miners,  as  it  appeared 
at  the  beginning  of  winter  is  thus  sketched :  "To  the  left  of  the 
stage  road  leading  to  Idaho  City,  stands  a  log  cabin,  ten  by 
twelve  feet  in  size,  the  roof  extending  eight  feet  from  the  main 
building,  a  pile  of  pitch  wood  to  the  left  of  the  door;  over  the 
wood  hangs  a  fore  and  hind  quarter  of  a  beef.  Under  the  same 
porch  is  seen  a  hand  sleigh  used  for  sledding  wood  and  articles 
from  town.  We  open  the  door  and  go  in.  Description  is  almost 


24  Article  in  Mining  and  Scientific  Press,  Vol.  12,  1866,  p.  259. 

25  Goulder,  Reminiscences,  p.  354. 

26  Mineral  Resources,  1869,  p.  40. 

27  A  fine  field  for  investigation  lies  in  the  history  of  the  Chinese  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  particularly  if  one  could  get  at  Chinese  sources.     A  still  wider  field  pre- 
sents itself  in  the  activity  of  this  race  in  all  the  mining  regions  of  the  Pacific. 
"The  number  of  Chinese  to  be  met  with  all  over  the  world",  says  Barret-Leon- 
ard, "wherever  gold  has  been  discovered,  is  a  singular  and  characteristic  fact." — 
Van  Id.  and  British  Col,  pp.  147-148. 


[282] 


TRIMBLE — -MINING  ADVANCE  147 

impossible,  but  I  will  endeavor  to  depict  the  scene.  On  the  left 
of  the  room  is  stored  any  amount  of  provisions,  over  which  are 
fixed  two  bunks  one  above  the  other.  To  the  right  of  the  fire- 
place stands  a  small  table  on  which  are  piled  books,  papers,  and 
many  other  small  articles  too  numerous  to  mention ;  and  still  to 
the  right  is  a  goods  box  nailed  to  the  wall  for  a  cupboard,  which 
is  filled  with  all  kinds  of  cooking  traps.  On  the  right  hand  side 
of  the  room  is  the  window,  one  pane  of  glass  constitutes  the  size, 
under  which  is  placed  the  dining  table.  The  right-hand  side  of 

j  the  room  is  ornamented  with  a  large  mirror  and  pictures :  among 
them  are  seen  Abraham  Lincoln  and  his  secretaries,  generals, 

Ibrts,  battles,  etc."27a  In  respect  to  these  latter  ornaments,  it 
may  be  observed,  many  miners  would  probably  have  preferred 
pictures  of  Jefferson  Davis  and  of  Southern  generals ;  but  the 
description  is  fairly  characteristic  of  the  ordinary  miner 's  cabin 
in  the  winter  time. 

Places  of  business,  also,  were  for  the  most  part  of  logs,  although 
in  the  first  stages  of  towns  tents  were  often  used;  as  a  town 
prospered,  substantial  buildings  of  sawed  lumber  or  of  stone 
were  usually  erected.  Owners  of  general  stores  often  built  cel- 
lars as  warehouses  for  storing  goods,  a  precaution  against  the 
fires  which  many  times  swept  mining  towns.  Frequently  several 
firms  carrying  on  different  lines  of  mercantile  business  occupied 
the  same  store,  which  very  likely  served  also  as  office  for  some 
doctor  or  lawyer ;  and  at  night  the  various  occupants  (with 
probably  a  guest  or  two)  quite  generally  used  the  scene  of  their 
day-time  endeavor  as  sleeping  quarters.28  The  appearance  of  one 
such  store,  thus  used,  reminded  an  English  traveler  in  the  in- 
terior of  British  Columbia  of  the  robber's  cave  in  the  Arabian 

^Nights. 

The  staple  foods  were  bread,  bacon,  beans,  coffee,  and  (in 
British  Columbia)  tea.  In  the  towns,  of  course,  there  was: 
greater  variety;  but  a  man,  by  paying  a  good  price,  could  gen- 
erally get  such  luxuries  as  eggs  and  butter.  Fresh  meat  was 
usually  obtainable  at  reasonable  prices  in  the  summer  time,  when 

27a  Mullan,  John,  Miners'  and  Travelers'  Guide,  pp.  126-128 ;  cf.  also,  descrip- 
tion of  cabin  in  Diary  of  J.  H.  Morley  MS.,  May  22,  1863. 

*  Sanders,  Col.  W.  F.,  Sketches  of  Early  Settlers  in  Montana,  MS. 

[283] 


148  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

drovers  brought  cattle  and  sheep  on  foot  to  the  camps.     Fish, 
also,  were  often  used,  there  being  fine  trout  in  Montana  and 
salmon  on  the  west  side  of  the  mountains ;  but  miners  who  could 
make  $5.00  per  day  or  more  could  not  profitably  spend  much 
time  in  fishing  or  hunting.     Still,  prospecting  parties,  in  par- 
ticular, found  game  useful.     Fresh  vegetables  and  potatoes  were 
much  sought,  in  order  to  avoid  the  terrible  scurvy.     Miners  at 
Oro  Fino  in  the  winter  of  1861-2  packed  potatoes  on  their  backs 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  through  deep  snow,  in  order  to  stay  th| 
ravages  of   this   disease.     "Uncooked  potatoes   sliced   up   and 
soaked  in  vinegar  were  far  from  affording  a  very  appetizing  dish,  i 
but  it  proved  a  sovereign  remedy  for  the  scurvy."29     Far  the| 
greater  portion  of  the  food  stuffs  were  imported  from  outside  the 
mining  regions — from  California,  the  Willamette  Valley,  Utah,! 
and  the  States.     Consequently,  when  insufficient  supplies  were 
laid  in,  and  winter  snows  blocked  the  trails,  miners  in  lone  camps 
were  sometimes  reduced  to  boiling  ferns,  or  oats,  or  the  inner  i 
bark  of  trees  in  order  to  stave  off  starvation ;  while  merchants  in  | 
town  often  ran  flour  up  to  monopolistic  prices,  $1.50  per  Ib.  or 
higher, — a   procedure  which   generally   produced  flour   riots.30 
There  were  many  restaurants  and  hotels  in  the  town  and  road- 
houses  along  the  trails,  but  except  when  traveling  (and  often 
then)  experienced  miners  did  their  own  cooking. 

Amusements  and  companionships  the  miner  had  to  have,  and, 
in  reaction  from  the  hard  labor  on  the  claim,  he  generally  sought 
eagerly  those  forms  of  amusement  offered  to  him  in  the  towns. 
He  was  bound  of  course,  to  be  attracted  by  horse-racing  and 
prize-fighting ;  there  were  always  men  around  who  wanted  to 
match  their  favorite  colts,  or  to  aspire  to  pugilistic  honors. 
Saloons  abounded  in  all  towns,  and  generally  sold  villainous 
concoctions;  but  they  were  the  only  places  where  a  man  could 
freely  find  companionship,  and  "some  of  them  were  kept  by  men 
of  intelligence  whose  general  impulses  were  excellent. '  '31  Other 
saloonkeepers  were  like  the  one  at  Yale,  who  when  the  miners 


29  Goulder,  Reminiscences,  p.  233. 

so  It  was  considered  very  creditable  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  when 
American  speculators  at  Victoria  had  cornered  the  market,  that  the  Companj 
broke  the  corner  and  refused  to  profit  by  the  miners'  necessities. 

31  Sketches  of  Early  Settlers  in  Montana,  Col.  W.  F.  Sanders,  MS. 


[284] 


TRIMBLE— MIXING  ADVANCE  149 

were  well  "slewed",  would  dispense  with  the  scales  and  take 
goodly  pinches  of  gold  from  the  extended  pouches.32  Nearly 
everybody  drank,  and  getting  drunk  was  a  venal  transgression : 
the  members  of  the  Philipsburg,  (Mont.)  Pioneer  Association- 
composed  of  "those  who  have  assisted  in  opening  up  for  settle- 
ment and  civilization"  California,  Idaho,  and  Montana — in  their 
resolutions  "Reserve  the  right  to  get  decently  drunk."  Liquor 
was  generally  taken  straight  and  at  one  gulp.  Vigorous  men 
with  the  health  of  pure  mountain  air  surging  within  them  could 
drink  safely  an  amount  of  liquor  that  would  have  crazed  an  of- 
fice denizen.  On  the  other  hand,  the  ill  effects  of  drink  were  by 
no  means  escaped:  the  "Miners'  Ten  Commandments"  speaks  of 
men  broiling  in  the  sun,  or  emerging  half  drowned  from  prospect 
holes  and  ditches,  of  gold  dust  and  the  comforts  it  might  have 
purchased  lying  at  the  bottom  of  a  damaged  stomach,  and  of  ' '  all 
the  unholy  catalogue  of  evils,"  that  follow  in  the  train  of  excess.33 
Some  of  the  men  who  played  heroic  and  conspicuous  parts  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Vigilantes  of  Montana  afterwards  went  to  pieces 
through  drink.  Billiard  tables  were  to  be  found  in  almost  every 
saloon,  and  were  much  patronized — British  travelers  wondered 
at  the  numbers  of  these  tables  in  Victoria. 

Gambling  was  exceedingly  common  and  open.  In  almost  every 
town  could  be  heard  the  cry  that  brought  back  to  Californians 
the  times  of  '49 :"  Make  your  game,  gentlemen,  make  your  game — 
all  down — no  more — game's  made."  The  men  who  ran  the 
gambling  houses  were  not  all  the  sleek,  lizard-eyed  villians  which 
occasional  writers  portray,  but  some  of  them  conducted  their 
business  with  fairness  and  would  tolerate  no  crooked  work.  As 
a  class  they  were  brave,  virile,  and  generous-hearted.  A  man 
knew  when  he  went  into  the  game  that  there  was  a  percentage  in 
favor  of  the  house.  Still,  a  number  of  games  regarded  as  legally 
unfair  are  enumerated  in  a  law  of  Montana  which  forbade  ' '  three 
card  monte,  strap  game,  thimble-rig  game,  patent  safe  game, 
black  and  red,  any  dice  game,  two  card  box  at  faro. ' '  Undoubt- 
edly much  of  the  terrible  wastage  that  left  many  of  the  miners 


32  Reminiscences  of  William  Stout  of  Yale,  MS. 

33  The  "Miners'  Ton  Commandments"  is  a  somewhat  ludicrous  portrayal  of  the 
miner's  life,  but  should  be  read  by  one  who  wishes  to  know  many  of  the  failings 
and  of  the  aspirations  of  that  life ;  a  copy  is  printed  in  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br. 
Col.,  pp.  418-422. 

[285] 


150  BULLETIN   OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF   WISCONSIN 

exposed  to  an  impecunious  old  age  was  produced  by  the  gaming 
table.34 

An  innocent  form  of  diversion  was  the  theaters,  one  or  more  of 
which  were  to  be  found  in  every  town  of  any  importance. 
Troupes  of  players,  male  and  female,  were  often  encountered  by 
travelers,  making  the  long  journeys  from  town  to  town.  A 
glimpse  of  a  theater  at  Walla  Walla  is  given  by  a  newspaper 
correspondent.  The  room  was  a  dismanteled  barroom,  and  the 
platform  was  flanked  by  blankets.  Mrs.  Leighton  and  a  troupe 
presented  the  play  "Naval  Engagements"  to  the  "highly  marine 
population  of  Walla  Walla.  Thirty-five  ladies  graced  the  dress 
circle  and  162  gentlemen  laughed  with  delight  on  board  benches 
at  the  expense  of  one  dollar  each. '  '3r> 

The  hurdy-gurdy  or  dance   houses  were   features   of  every 
center.     One  of  them  is  described  as  follows :     "At  one  end  of  a 
long  hall  a  well  stocked  bar  and  a  monte  bank  in  full  blast ;  at 
the  other  a  platform  on  which  were  three  musicians.     After  each 
dance  there  was  a  drink  at  the  bar.     The  house  was  open  from  9 
P.   M.    until  day-light.     Every  dance  was  $1.00 — half  to  the 
woman  and  half  to  the  proprietor.     Publicly,  decorum  was  pre- 
served ;  and  to  many  miners,  who  had  not  seen  a  feminine  face  for 
six  months,  these  poor  women  represented  vaguely  something  of 
the  tenderness  and  sacredness  of  their  sex. '  '3G     Most  of  the  hurd- 
ies  were  German  women,  who  followed  the  business  for  gain — the 
majority  homely  enough,  but  some  good  dancers.     It  is  a  mis- 
take to  confuse  these  dance  halls  with  houses  of  prostitution; 
seldom  did  one  of  these  women  become  a  prostitute,  and  some  of 
them  settled  down  in  the  country  and  became  good  wives.38     The 
lighter  side  of  the  dancing  was  sung  in  Cariboo  Rhymes : 
1 '  Bonnie  are  the  hurdies  0 ! 
The  German  Hurdie-Gurdies  0 ! 
The  daftest  hour  that  e'er  I  spent 
Was  dancing  wi  'the  hurdies  0 !  "39 

34  Montana  Post,  Jan.  21,  1865. 

35  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  June  25,  1864. 
38  Richardson,  Beyond  the  Mississippi,  p.  480. 

38  A  very  much  respected  pioneer  told  me  that  he  had  known  a  number  of  these 
women  and  had  heen  acquainted  with  their  later  careers,  and  that  all  had  turned 
out  well. 

39  Jeames'  Letters  to  Sau-nie,  quoted  in  Bancroft,  His.  Pac.  States,  Vol.  XXVII, 
p.  519. 

[286] 


TRIMBLE — MIXING  ADVANCE  151 

The  other  side  was  presented  by  the  Montana  Post,  which  as- 
serted that  the  hurdy-gurdy  houses  exercised  a  most  pernicious 
influence,  particularly  in  that  they  helped  to  pauperize  labourers ; 
too  often  they  were  scenes  of  quarreling,  violence,  and  drunk- 
enness. There  seemed  to  be  a  "desire  to  run  everything  in  the 
shape  of  amusements  beyond  all  safe  limits. '  '40 

There  were  houses  of  prostitution  in  practically  all  towns,  and 
vice  flaunted  itself  more  openly  than  in  older  communities.  "A 
bespangled  and  flounced  woman  of  costly  garments"  was  not  in- 
frequently seen  on  the  streets,  while  on  the  trails  might  occasion- 
ally be  met  small  companies  of  "things  calling  themselves 
women",  dressed  in  men's  clothing  and  with  revolvers  strapped 
to  their  waists,  and  some  of  these  even  dared  the  rugged  trails  to 
Cariboo.41 

For  the  -steady  part  of  the  population  there  were  gathering 
places  seldom  taken  into  account  in  the  history  of  mining  com- 
munities. Quiet  citizens  would  gather  in  some  store,  as  that  of 
George  Chrissman  at  Bannack  City  and  of  Pfouts  at  Virginia 
City, — and  there,  seated  on  stools,  benches,  and  boxes,  would  tell 
strange  experiences  or  discuss  grave  questions.  But  generally 
the  talk  fell  naturally  on  mines;  for,  to  "find  mines,  to  plant 
mining  communities  occupied  industrial  attention."42  There 
were  halls  where  fraternal  organizations  might  gather,  or  a 
neighborhood  dance  be  held.  Miners  of  studious  tastes  might 
form  public  libraries,  as  at  Helena.42a  Church  buildings,  also, 
were  early  erected  in  most  of  the  larger  towns,  and  in  them  Sun- 
day schools  were  carried  on,  more  or  less  regular  preaching  serv- 
ices held,  and  occasional  special  meetings  called. 

In  trying  to  find  out  the  characteristics  of  the  population,  at 
whose  amusements  we  have  glanced,  two  extremes  are  to  be 
avoided:  The  one  is  the  view  of  those  superficial  writers  who, 


40  Montana  Post,  Jan.  14,  1865. 

41  Pilgrimage  of  W.  8.  Haskell  and  Family  to  the  gold  regions  in  1864,  MS.  entry 
May  4  ;  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  July  18,  1863. 

42  Sketches  of  Early  Settlers  in  Montana,  Col.  W.  F.  Sanders,  MS. 

*2a  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  VII,  p.  187.  The  Historical  Society  of  Montana 
was  incorporated  in  1865  by  H.  S.  Hosmer,  C.  P.  Higgins,  John  Owen,  James 
Stuart,  W.  F.  Sanders,  Malcolm  Clark,  P.  M.  Thompson,  William  Graham, 
Granville  Stuart,  W.  W.  DeLacy,  C.  E.  Irvine,  and  Charles  Baggs. — Contr  His 
Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  II,  p.  19. 

[287] 


152  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  WISCONSIN 

seizing  on  the  unusual,  unconventional,  or  abnormal  features  of 
the  life  of  the  mining  communities,  and  especially  regarding  the 
exploits  of  desperadoes,  conclude  that  ruffianism  and  violence 
were  the  normal  qualities  of  these  communities;  the  other  (and 
the  more  forgiveable)  is  that  of  some  of  the  pioneers  who,  look- 
ing back  through  mellowing  years,  and  remembering  the  good 
and  true  men  who  formed  the  majority  of  the  mining  populace, 
forget  some  of  the  undeniably  bad  blots  upon  the  society  of  the 
time. 

In  truth,  for  the  observer  wishing  to  be  impartial,  a  great  deal 
depends  upon  one 's  point  of  view.  If  he  undertakes  to  apply  to 
mining  communities  the  conventional  standards  of  conduct  which 
ruled  in  the  sixties  in  quiet  villages  of  the  East,  he  will  find 
sufficient  transgressions  to  shock  him ;  and  these  standards  were 
precisely  those  that  were  applied  by  some  of  the  writers  of  the 
time.  They  inferred  that,  since  miners  generally  were  profane 
and  reckless  and  did  not  keep  the  Sabbath,  often  gambled  and 
drank,  and  wore  weapons  habitually,  therefore  they  were  violent, 
ignorant,  and  depraved,  ready  for  any  depth  of  sin  or  crime. 
Moreover,  the  impressions  given  by  such  witnesses  are  some- 
times confirmed  by  some  of  the  pioneers  themselves  who,  finding 
the  outrageous  side  of  life  most  eagerly  listened  to,  put  to  the 
fore  in  their  accounts  murders,  robberies,  and  brawls.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  impartial  student,  without  in  the  least  denying 
or  seeking  to  palliate  what  was  ugly,  will  not  overlook  essential 
traits  of  manhood,  but  will  remember  that  most  of  the  mining 
populace  were  young  men,  far  from  the  restraints  of  home ;  that 
they  had  come,  many  of  them,  from  the  less  exhilarating  atmo- 
sphere of  lower  altitudes,  to  the  splendid  invigoration  of  moun- 
tain air  and  outdoor  life,  and,  consequently,  effervesced  with 
energy;  that  their  excesses  were  often  reactions  against  the 
monotony  of  their  toil ;  and  that  many  of  them  earned  large  sums 
of  money  quickly  and,  feeling  certain  that  they  could  replace 
them  easily  in  the  apparently  endless  succession  of  new  fields, 
spent  their  treasure  prodigally.  Above  all,  he  who  seeks  a  just 
estimate  of  mining  populations,  as  of  any  other,  will  make  gen- 
eral statements  cautiously. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  of  approaching  the  matter  is  to  start  with 

[288] 


TRIMBLE — MINING  ADVANCE  153 

the  observation  of  a  careful  and  experienced  participant  in  the 
mining  advance,  who  wrote  that  "Society  was  divided  into  two 
classes — the  good  and  the  bad. '  '43  This  observation  is,  of  course, 
true  of  society  in  general,  but  to  that  of  mining  camps  it  is  par- 
ticularly apropos,  since  ties  of  friendship  and  associations,  in  the 
absence  often  of  more  defined  regulations  of  society,  were  pecu- 
liarly close. 

The  "bad"  classes  were  represented  in  some  camps  by  an  in- 
ferior lot  of  hangers-on  who  were  lazy  and  unenterprising ;  but  a 
lazy  man  stood  a  good  chance  of  starving,  and  the  hobo  class  was 
conspicuously  absent.44  It  took  a  man  to  face  the  long  journeys 
to  the  mines  and  the  vicissitudes  of  life  there.  There  were  also 
some  mere  rowdies  who  might  participate  in  a  riot  at  times,  but 
who  were  easily  cowed  by  Judge  Begbie  in  British  Columbia  or 
by  the  mere  mention  of  a  vigilante  committee  in  the  territories.45 
But  the  really  bad  class,  the  class  that  did  so  much  to  give  a  bad 
name  to  mining  communities,  were  the  desperadoes.  These  were 
often  brave  men  gone  wrong,  who  had  formed  criminal  tendencies 
and  associations  in  California,  and  who  continued  their  evil  as- 
sociations in  the  various  camps  of  the  northern  interior,  until 
finally  they  were  graduated  into  very  bad,  overbearing,  and 
dangerous  criminals.  Many  of  the  murders  so  often  mentioned 
in  characterizations  of  mining  communities,  were  simply  killings 
of  one  or  the  other  of  these  men  by  another  of  the  same  class ;  but 
not  infrequently,  allured  by  large  amounts  of  treasure  carried  by 
travelers,  or  by  a  rancher's  scattered  horses  (both  a  form  of 
plunder  not  hard  to  dispose  of),  and  emboldened  by  the  unor- 
ganized and  unprotected  condition  of  society,  these  villains 
banded  themselves  together  for  most  atrocious  rapine  and  mur- 
der, directed  against  quiet  citizens.  The  numbers  of  this  class, 
however,  were  very  small  compared  to  the  whole  population. 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  characteristics  of  the  miners  as  a 
class,  on  the  other  hand,  was  that  they  were  law-abiding  and  or- 
derly. The  very  nature  of  their  occupations  made  them  that. 
Men  who  were  seriously  working  rich  claims,  or  making  large 


43  Butler,  Life  and  Times  in  Idaho,  MS.,  p.  9. 

44  Conversation  with  Judge  W.  Y.  Pemberton,  of  Helena. 

45  Pemberton.  J.  D.,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  pp.  130-1. 


[289] 


154  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

wages,  could  not  afford  to  commit  crimes,  if  they  wanted  to. 
Most  of  the  miners,  moreover,  were  men  of  good  antecedents,  a 
fact  as  true)  of  the  large  foreign  element  as  of  the  Anglo-Saxon. 
The  Germans  and  Frenchmen  who  came  to  the  mining  regions 
were  not  gutter  spawn,  but  often  younger  sons  of  good  families, 
or  peasants;  and  they  were  well  trained  to  obedience  to  law. 
Moreover,  the  men  who  came  from  California  had  had  good 
training  in  participating  in  the  evolution  of  customs  and  laws  of 
the  mining  camps ;  and,  besides,  being  now  older  than  when  they 
had  first  gone  to  California,  they  were  the  more  inclined  to  ways 
of  steadiness.46  The  testimony  of  the  sources  in  regard  to  the 
law-abiding  instincts  of  the  miners  is  clear  and  practically  unan- 
imous, and  this  is  especially  true  of  the  sources  dealing  with 
British  Columbia.  Although  the  officials  there  had  been  warned 
that  these  men  were  the  ragtags  and  off-scourings  of  the  universe, 
they  were  surprised  to  find,  like  Judge  Begbie,  that  the  miners 
"manifested  a  great  desire  to  see  justice  fairly  done  and  great 
patience  with  the  difficulties  which  the  magistrates  and  the  ju- 
diciary have  had  to  contend  with."47  Again,  the  same  distin- 
guished judge  observed,  "There  was  on  all  sides  a  submission  to 
authority,  a  recognition  of  the  right,  which,  looking  to  the  mixed 
nature  of  the  population,  and  the  very  large  predominance  of 
the  Californian  element,  I  confess  I  had  not  expected  to  meet. ' J48 
The  proportion  of  the  law-abiding  element  in  the  American  ter- 
ritories is  probably  fairly  expressed  by  Mr.  Hailey,  who  says,  ' '  I 
think  I  may  truthfully  say  that  ninety-five  per  cent  of  these 
people  were  good,  industrious,  honorable  and  enterprising,  and 
to  all  appearances  desired  to  make  money  in  a  legitimate  way. '  '• 

The  law-abiding  instincts  of  the  miners — and  as  well  another 
chief  characteristic,  their  virility, — are  interestingly  brought  out 
in  a  letter,  tinged  perhaps  with  idealism,  to  The  London  Times: 


46  These   considerations   with   respect   to   the    foreign   element,   were   earnestly 
presented  to  me  by   Dr.   James   S.   Helmcken,   son-in-law  of   Sir  James  Douglas 
and  Speaker  of  the  first  Assembly  of  Vancouver   Island.     He  had  every  oppor- 
tunity to  observe  the  miners  closely  and  had  no  reason  to  be  prejudiced  in  their 
favor. 

47  Quoted  from  Judge   Begbie  in   Pemberton,   J.   D.,   Van  Id.   and  Br.   Col.,  p. 
130-1. 

48  Journal  of  the  Koiial  Geographical  Society,  Vol.   XXXI,   p.  247. 

49  His.  of  Idaho,  p.  91. 


[290] 


TRIMBLE — MINING  ADVANCE  155 

''All  who  come  to  British  Columbia,  be  they  gentle,  be  they 
simple,  whatever  their  class  or  previous  calling,  must  be  men, — 
true  men,  resolute",  persevering,  cheerful,  temperate  men,  men  of 
dauntless  character.  They  need  not  be  strong  men,  particularly, 
but  if  not  strong  in  body,  nor  particularly  inured  to  hardship  as 
to  constitution,  they  must  be  hardy  in  mind.  They  must  be  of 
the  stuff  on  which  England's  glory  is  founded.  If  they  are 
puny,  or  complaining,  or  talkative,  imaginative  fellows,  they  had 
better  stay  at  home  where  they  are.  In  a  state  of  society  more 
or  less  artificial  they  may  find  a  living,  but  not  here.  They  will 
die,  and  scarcely,  if  at  all,  be  regreted  by  anybody.  Here  we 
revert  to  first  principles  in  all  things ;  and  I  am  happy  to  say  the 
miners  of  British  Columbia  as  a  body  are  the  very  finest  fellows 
I  ever  caine  across — hardy  fellows,  heroes,  in  a  kind  of  way.  Of 
course  there  are  exceptions,  but  I  speak  of  the  mass,  and  I  make 
no  distinction  of  nation.  We  have  British  subjects,  English, 
Scotch,  Irish,  Welsh,  Canadian,  Australian,  New  Zealand, 
French,  German,  Dane,  Swede,  Norwegian,  Spaniard,  Italian, 
Mexican,  United  States,  Confederate  States — in  fact  bone  and 
sinew,  life  and  energy,  skimmed  as  the  cream  from  the  manliness 
of  all  nations.  That  is  my  opinion  of  the  miners  of  British  Co- 
lumbia, and  I  would  wish  it  to  be  openly  declared  as  against  all 
who  may  gainsay  it;  don't  let  anybody  believe  they  are  a  people 
unsafe  to  live  among.  I  mention  this  because  absurd  tales  are 
told  (and  I  am  sorry  to  say  the  foolish  practice  among  them  of 
carrying  revolvers  gives  a  sort  of  color  to  it)  of  the  wild  reck- 
lessness and  violence  of  the  miners.  If  a  person  will  mind  his 
own  business,  keep  a  civil  tongue  in  his  head,  look  straight  into  a 
man's  eye,  and  fear  nobody,  he  will  lead  as  quiet  a  life  as  he  can 
desire.  As  a  body  the  miners  are  above  average  intelligence, 
and  fully  recognize  the  value  of  law  and  order,  and  are  always 
ready  to  maintain  it."50  The  virile  qualities  of  the  miners  are 
emphasized,  also,  by  another  English  observer,  as  follows :  '  *  In- 
tent on  speedy  gain  they  are  ready  to  brave  every  risk,  face  every 
hardship  and  privation.  Dauntless,  fearless,  and  restless,  they 
will  brook  no  opposition  nor  restraint,  but  with  a  wild  self-de- 


The  London  Times,  Jan.  30th,  1862. 

[291] 


156  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

pendence  of  character  plunge  wherever  gold  attracts  them,  de- 
fying everything,  and  surmounting  all  obstacles.  ":>1 

Besides  being  law-abiding  and  virile,  the  average  miner  was  in- 
telligent. In  a  population  ' '  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
drawn  from  every  social  grade,  animated  by  the  most  diverse 
ideas  and  principles,  differing  in  every  essential  particular  nec- 
essary to  social  or  moral  organization",  the  abrasions  of  society 
were  themselves  educative.52  Not  a  few  of  the  miners  were  men 
of  education.  Books,  magazines,  or  newspapers  were  found 
commonly  in  the  cabins,  and  were  often  conned  to  good  advan- 
tage in  winter.  One  of  the  first  things  that  Morley  did  on  set- 
tling down  at  Bannack  (Montana)  was  to  order  magazines  from 
Salt  Lake ;  Goulder  at  Oro  Fino  (Idaho)  in  the  long  winter  even- 
ings read  Scott 's  novels  to  his  comrades ;  in  British  Columbia  the 
Bishop  found  miners  at  Cariboo  possessing  copies  of  Gibbon, 
Macaulay,  Shakspeare,  and  Plutarch.53  Since  the  miners,  how- 
ever, were  rough  in  appearance,  travelers  sometimes  misjudged 
them.  Mrs.  Leighton,  journeying  on  the  upper  Columbia  in  the 
'49,  looked  with  suspicion  on  the  miners  aboard,  but  found  them 
interesting  on  acquaintance:  one  of  a  company  collected  for  a 
wagon  trip  '  *  looked  like  a  brigand  with  his  dark  hair  and  eyes ' ' ; 
but  when — in  addition  tQ  showing  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
country  through  which  they  were  passing — he  talked  about  the 
"soft  Spanish  names  of  places  in  California",  and  of  "the  primi- 
tive forms  in  which  minerals  crystallized",  and  told  of  the  gal- 
lantry of  the  miners  when  the  '  *  Central  America ' '  was  wrecked, 
she  concluded  that  he  would  have  been  *  *  interesting  anywhere. '  '54 
The  Bishop  of  Columbia  thought  that  his  congregations  at  Vic- 
toria contained  a  "larger  proportion  of  shrewd,  thinking,  intel- 
ligent educated  gentlemen  than  any  in  England  out  of  Lon- 
don. "54« 

The  characteristic  most  dwelt  upon,  however,  by  participants 
in  the  mining  rushes  was  enterprise.  This  characteristic  is  em- 

81  Cornwallis,  Tlie  yew  El  Dorado,  p.  10. 

62  The  Gregonian,  June  28,   1861. 

63  Morley,  J.  IL,  Diary,  MS.,  Sept.  21,  1862;  Goulder,  W.  A.,  Reminiscences,  p. 
221-2  ;  Extracts  from  the  Journal  of  the  Bishop  of  British  Columbia,  1862-3. 

54  Leighton,  Caroline  C.,  Life  at  Puget  Sound,  with  Sketches  of  Travel,  pp. 
93-99. 

5!a   Columbian  Mitswm.  Occasional  Papers,  1862,  p.  7. 

[292] 


TRIMBLE— -MINING  ADVANCE  157 

phasized,  rather  naively,  in  a  few  lines  of  rhyme  from  Idaho 
City : 

* i  I  'm  standing  now  upon  the  hill 

That  looks  down  on  the  town. 

I  'm  thinking  of  that  mighty  will 

Which  never  can  bow  down ; 

I  mean  the  will  of  Enterprise 

That  made  our  nation  grow, 

And  from  these  Indian  wilds  built  up 

The  town  of  Idaho."55 

Enterprise  is  placed  foremost  by  the  Montana  Post  in  an  esti- 
mate of  the  mining  population — an  estimate  which  mentions, 
also,  some  other  interesting  characteristics.  ' '  The  great  features 
of  our  people,"  it  said,  "are  enterprise,  restless  activity  and  con- 
tempt of  danger  or  privation.  Hospitality  is  general  and  un- 
affected. There  is  a  sort  of  rough,  though  genuine  courtesy  much 
in  vogue  among  mountaineers,  that  makes  them  excellent  com- 
panions in  danger  or  hardship.  Men  of  education  may  meet 
their  fellows  here.  Majors,  colonels,  judges,  and  doctors  in- 
clude about  one-third  of  the  adult  males,  but  the  reverence 
usually  accorded  to  those  high-sounding  cognomens  is  left  at 
home ;  and  in  the  gulch  Major  Blank  wheels,  while  Colonel  Carat 
fills."00 

Nicknames  were  often  used,  "extemporized  from  some  per- 
sonal eccentricity,  some  notable  expression,  or  event  of  experi- 
ence. "  If  a  man  seemed  educated,  he  might  be  called  * '  doc ' '  or 
"cap",  a  large  man  would  be  called  Big  Bill  or  Big  Jim.  Fre- 
quent reference  to  place  whence  he  had  come  might  result  in 
* '  Eattlesnake  Jack  "  or  "  Oregon  Bob ' '.  One  man  who  was  fond 
of  displaying  an  array  of  initials  and  titles  was  called  "Alphabet 
McD — ".  These  designations  were  sometimes  especially  handy, 
in  cases  where  an  individual  had  some  delicacy  about  his  real 
name.57 


'••  Boise  News,  Aug.   20.   1S64. 

56  Montana  Pest,  June  28,  1865. 

57  Material  for  this  paragraph  is  found  mostly  in  Macfie,  Van  Id.  and  Br.  Col., 
p.  414.     This  author  makes  another  observation  which  I  have  not  come  across 
elsewhere,  when  he  says  that  the  "intense  pitch  to  which  the  feelings  of  people 
are  strung  in  a  gold-producing  country  is  a  frequent  cause  for  insanity",  p.  410. 

[293] 


158  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

The  mining  population  was  one  extremely  nomadic — often 
disastrously  so  to  the  individual.  The  old  wander-lust  stirred 
the  blood  mightily,  and  especially  so  in  the  spring.  The  call  of 
new  and  rich  diggings,  even  though  deceptive,  was  seldom  re- 
sisted. "What  a  clover-field  is  to  a  steer,"  wrote  the  Oregonian 
with  somewhat  crude  humor,  ' '  the  sky  to  the  lark — a  mudhole  to 
a  hog,  such  are  new  diggings  to  a  miner.  Feed  him  on  a  success- 
sion  of  new  diggings,  and  his  youth  would  be  perennial. '  '58  For- 
gotten were  rheumatism,  toil,  and  disappointments  when  reports 
of  big  strikes  circulated.  An  old  miner  on  being  asked  by  the 
Bishop  of  Columbia  why  the  old-time  miners  had  not  realized 
fortunes,  answered  that  they  were  "always  agitated  by  news  of 
rich  diggings"  and  that  they  gave  up  good  paying  claims  on 
hear-say  reports,  and  often  came  back  impoverished.  "I  my- 
self," he  added,  "if  I  hear  of  anything  better  cannot  keep  quiet; 
I  must  be  off."59 

That  humor  lightened  many  of  the  troubles  of  the  miners  and 
played  over  and  through  their  experiences,  is  suggested  by  a  few 
specimens  that  glimmer  through  our  sources.  The  humor  was 
sometimes  irreverent  and  grotesque ;  as,  for  example,  concerning 
a  supposedly  conceited  nominee  for  the  Legislature,  an  unfriendly 
critic  remarked,  "If  that  chap  is  elected  to  the  Legislature, 
God  '0  mighty 's  overcoat  wouldn't  make  a  vest  pattern  for  him". 
It  was  generally  picturesque,  descriptive,  and  full  of  slang,  as 
"two  squaw-power,"  concerning  two  Indian  women  paddling  a 
canoe;  "Boston  jackasses,"  applied  to  men  labouring  under 
packs  to  Salmon  Eiver;  "jawbone"  (signifying  credit)  and 
" gumticklers "  and  "flashes  of  lightning" — different  kinds  of 
liquors.  Sometimes  the  humor  was  grim ;  as  talk  of  a  vigilante 
organization  for  a  "mid-air  dance",  or,  on  rumor  of  the  asser- 
tion of  Indian  titles  to  miners'  claims,  the  remark  that  the  In- 
dians would  need  to  be  "  armor-plated. ' '  A  pun  might  crop  out ; 
as  in  commenting  on  lack  of  interest  in  education  on  the  part  of 
a  quartz  community,  it  was  remarked  that  "a  large  majority  of 
the  fathers  prefer  the  development  of  feet  to  the  head."  A 
more  subtle  form  appeared  in  the  case  of  a  miner  who  by  re- 


58  Oregonian,  July  12,   1862. 

69  Journal  of  Bishop  of  Columbia,  p.  15. 

[294] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  159 

peated  experiences  having  found  an  acquaintance  of  no  account, 
characterized  the  unfortunate  by  saying,  "I  have  panned  him 
out  clear  down  to  bed  rock,  but  I  couldn't  raise  the  color." 

The  profanity  of  the  miners  was  omnipresent,  exuberant, 
"diabolical",  and  habitual.  Men  were  not  unlikely  to  swear 
unconsciously  when  their  thoughts  were  really  of  higher  things. 
One  miner  was  over-heard  by  the  Bishop  of  Columbia  swearing 
roundly  as  he  defended  the  Church;  "What  would  society  be 
without  it  ? "  he  asked  with  an  oath,  ' '  I  tell  you  it  has  a  refining 
influence."60 

Lack  of  observance  of  Sunday  was  everywhere  prevalent.  On 
that  day  the  miner,  (if  he  discontinued  usual  labor)  washed  and 
patched  his  clothing,  cooked  up  food  for  the  next  week,  mended 
broken  tools ;  or  he  went  to  town  to  get  his  pick  sharpened,  get 
the  mail,  settle  his  accounts,  meet  his  fellows,  and  have  a  good 
time.  Sunday,  indeed,  in  the  towns  was  generally  the  liveliest 
day  of  the  week.  Dance  halls,  saloons,  and  gambling  houses  ran 
full  blast,  and  usually  there  was  a  horse-race  or  prize-fight. 
Business  places  were  all  open.  The  rector  at  Cariboo  had  hard 
work  getting  church  officers  from  among  the  business  men,  be- 
cause any  one  accepting  an  office  would  be  expected  to  close  his 
store  on  Sunday  and  would  thus  be  at  a  disadvantage.  An  Idaho 
law  which  forbade  court  procedures  on  Sunday  had  to  be  modi- 
fied so  as  to  permit  taxation  of  packers  who  waited  until  Sunday 
to  bring  in  their  trains,  and  to  allow  issuance  of  attachments  on 
that  day,  in  order  to  stop  absconding  of  debtors.61  In  extenua- 
tion of  this  Sabbath-breaking,  it  may  be  said  that  the  men  really 
had  few,  except  reminiscent,  motives  for  observing  the  day,  and 
that  in  the  mining  season  it  was  necessary  to  push  all  work  hard ; 
another  reason  for  Sunday  work  appealed  to  steady  men  like 
J.  H.  Morley,  who  writes,  "Thinking  of  loved  ones  at  home,  it 
seems  no  sin  in  this  savage  country  to  exert  oneself  on  their  be- 
half,  on  the  Sabbath.  "62 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  said  in  preceding  pages  in  regard 
to  the  relations  of  miners  to  women,  two  or  three  other  phases 


80  Journal,  p.  45. 

91  Occasional  Papers,  Columbian  Mission,   1869,   p.   66 ;   Idaho   World.  Jau    6 
1866. 

62  Diary,  July  19,  1863. 

[295] 


160  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

need  to  be  presented.  In  the  American  territories  there  seems  to 
have  been  a  clearly  marked  antipathy  to  miscegenation,  while  in 
British  Columbia  this  feeling  was  less  clear.  In  Idaho,  the  legis- 
lature passed  a  law  forbidding  cohabitation  with  Indians,  Chi- 
nese, or  Negroes.  In  British  Columbia,  if  we  are  to  believe  the 
reports  of  the  clergy,  there  was  noticeable  resort  to  concubinage 
with  Indian  squaws,  or  * '  klootchmen, ' '  as  they  were  there  called. 
"In  all  these  settlements,"  writes  the  Rev.  James  Reynard  on  a 
trip  in  the  interior,  "the  great,  the  crying  evils  are  Indian  con- 
cubinage, and  the  poor  neglected  half-breed  families."  Again, 
as  he  comments  on  the  degradation,  which  the  Indian  connection 
at  last  produced,  he  exclaims,  "English  mothers  and  sisters!  do 
you  know  how  your  sons  and  brothers  live  away  from  you?"63 
There  was,  however,  little  abandonment  of  Indian  families  by 
white  fathers.  One  fact  stands  out  conspicuously  through  ab- 
sence of  literature  of  the  time,  whether  north  or  south  of  the 
line :  namely,  there  is  no  mention,  so  far  as  the  author  'a  reading 
extends,  of  any  outrages  committed  upon  white  women  by  men 
of  the  mining  advance,  although,  as  we  have  seen,  women  were 
present  in  all  mining  communities. 

Rough  society  undoubtedly  was,  and  in  many  respects,  unat- 
tractive ;  individuals  there  were  who  were  sordid,  mean,  violent, 
disgraceful.  But  taken  as  a  whole,  for  qualities  of  real  man- 
hood— chivalrousness  toward  women,  hardihood,  industry,  intelli- 
gence, enterprise,  and  submission  to  law — the  mining  population 
was  worthy  of  respect. 

Mining  society,  however,  was  very  heterogeneous  and  inco- 
herent— a  fact  which  made  formal  organization  difficult;  yet 
there  were  certain  interesting  bonds  of  union. 

In  the  first  place,  men  from  a  given  locality  naturally  grouped 
themselves  with  other  men  from  that  locality.  Thus  Califor- 
nians,  Pike's  Peakers,  and  Minnesotians — especially  at  the  start 
in  any  camp — were  inclined  to  act  together.  These  groupings, 
however,  made  more  difficult  the  establishment  of  law  and  in- 
creased the  opportunities  for  the  lawless  classes  to  make  trouble, 
since  law-abiding  citizens  were  not  at  first  acquainted  with  the 
men  of  like  mind  from  different  sections. 


63  Occasional  Papers,  Columbian  Mission,   Report    of  1870,   pp.   62-3  and   65. 

[296] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  161 

Again,  friendship  in  the  mines  formed  a  very  real  bond  of 
union.  In  the  midst  of  dangers  and  trying  experiences  men 
were  drawn  together  into  peculiarly  close  and  enduring  relation- 
ships. A  man  could  count  on  his  friends  standing  by  him  and  he 
by  them  through  every  vicissitude  of  fortune.  In  sickness 
friends  nursed  a  man ;  if  he  got  lost  or  was  in  danger  of  freezing, 
they  hunted  for  him  and  succored  him,  or  buried  him ;  if  he  was 
out  of  money,  friends  ' '  staked ' '  him.  If  he,  on  his  part,  found  a 
new  prospect,  he  would  surely  let  his  friends  know  of  it  and 
stake  off  claims  for  them;  if  a  friend  got  into  a  fight,  he  would 
see  that  there  was  fair  play;  and,  if  that  friend  were  in  great 
danger,  would  hazard  his  own  life  in  his  defense.  One  of  the 
very  essentials  of  manhood  was  violated  if  fidelity  to  friends 
was  lacking.  It  was  the  strength  of  such  associations  as  these 
that  helped  to  make  more  difficult  the  task  of  establishing  law 
and  order;  for  criminals  themselves  had  their  friends,  some  of 
whom  might  be  well-intentioned  citizens.  It  took  a  high  degree 
of  daring  and  determination  for  leaders  on  the  side  of  law,  in 
trying  to  bring  criminals  to  justice,  to  confront  not  only  the 
criminal,  but  his  friends.  On  the  other  hand,  when  desperadoes 
shot  down  a  good  citizen,  they  would  have  to  reckon  with  the  lat- 
ter's  friends;  as  in  the  case  of  Lloyd  Magruder,  of  Lewiston 
whose  murderers  were  followed  from  Lewiston  to  San  Francisco 
by  Magruder 's  friend,  Hill  Beachy,  and  brought  back  to  the  gal- 
lows.64 

Another  tie  that  tended  to  unite  separated  "  units  of  society " 
was  Masonry.  Brother  Masons  soon  became  known  to  each 
other,  and  lodges  were  formed  in  a  number  of  places.  T.  M. 
Reed  of  Florence,  elected  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  of  Washing- 
ton Territory  in  1862,  was  a  leading  Mason.65  The  claim  has 
been  made  that  Masonry  was  an  active,  though  quiet,  force  in 
bringing  about  order  in  Montana,  and  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  many  of  the  leaders  in  that  work  were  Masons.68 

w'For  an  account  of  this  case,  see  Hailey,  His.  of  IdaJio,  Chap.  14.  Other 
sources  for  this  paragraph  are  Cornwallis,  The  New  El  Dorado,  p.  207 ;  Contr. 
His.  8oc.,  Mon,,  Vol.  I,  p.  124;  remarks  by  Judge  W.  Y.  Pemberton.  Leaving 
a  friend  as  narrated  by  Goulder  in  the  case  of  some  Jew  traders,  was  an  excep- 
tion to  usual  custom,  Reminiscences,  pp.  224-227. 

65  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Jan.  2,  1863. 

«  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mon.,  Vol.  VII,  p.  186;  Langford,  Vigilante  Days  and  Ways, 

[297]-- 


162  BULLETIN  OP  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF  WISCONSIN 

Of  peculiar  interest  was  another  organization,  which  could 
not  exist  in  British  Columbia,  but  which  in  the  Territories  was 
conspicious  and  active.  This  was  Fenianism.  Local  circles  of 
Fenians  were  formed  in  many  mining  towns.  The  Owyhee  circle 
numbered  one  hundred;  strong  organizations  existed  at  Idaho 
City  and  Virginia  City,  and  in  Helena  when,  on  St.  Patrick's 
Day,  1869,  twelve  hundred  men  paraded,  Fenian  sentiment  was 
rife.67  These  circles  were  given  definite  organization,  having  as 
officers  a  Center,  Treasurer,  Secretary  and  Committee  of  Safety. 
In  Idaho  there  was,  also,  a  territorial  organization,  of  which 
John  M.  Murphy  was  Head  Center,  and  a  territorial  convention 
was  held  in  1866  at  Idaho  City  in  the  Hall  of  the  Fenian  Broth- 
erhood.68 The  Brotherhood  in  Idaho  was  affiliated  with  the 
national  organization ;  when  a  rupture  occurred  in  that,  however, 
the  territorial  Council  was  instructed  "to  adopt  a  line  of  policy 
in  consonance  with  our  brethern  of  California."69  The  Terri- 
torial Council  and  Center  had  entire  control  of  the  organization, 
save  for  the  convention,  and  could  act  at  any  moment.70  Each 
local  center  was  to  report  monthly  the  number  of  members,  their 
age,  and  whether  married  or  single.  The  object  was  to  be  ready 
to  co-operate  in  the  grand  simultaneous  rising  of  Irishmen  in 
Canada,  England,  and  Ireland.  England  was  vulnerable  to  the 
Fenians  of  Idaho  and  Montana,  it  was  thought,  in  the  possible 
seizure  of  British  Columbia  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
territories.  Strong  and  brave  Irishmen  would  hew  their  way 
through  the  provinces  and  cross  the  sea,  while  their  brethren  at 
home  were  keeping  England  busy.  Money  was  collected,  and 
military  training  was  carried  on.  It  was  sought  to  include  in 
the  ranks  all  Irishmen  and,  also,  those  who  sympathized  with 
their  cause;  the  result  of  the  latter  classification  being  the  in- 
clusion of  many  not  Irishmen.  Participation  in  American  poli- 
tics was  disavowed,  but  The  Idaho  Statesman  charged  that  in 
Idaho  Democratic  politicians  made  use  of  Fenianism.71  The  so- 


«  Owyhee  A  Blanche,  Jan.  16,  1869  ;  Idaho  World,  June  30,  1866  ;  Contr.  His. 
8oc.,  Mont.,  Vol.  VI,  p.  107. 
« Idaho  Wor7<7,  May  28,  1866. 
69  Id. 

71  Idaho  Weekly  Statesman,  April  22,  1866. 

[298] 


THIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  163 

cial  side  was  not  passed  over  by  this  war-like  brotherhood;  a 
notable  Fenian  ball  was  given  on  one  occasion  at  Idaho  City  by 
the  Emmett  Life  Guards.72 

In  bringing  this  chapter  to  a  close,  it  may  be  profitable  to  give 
some  special  attention  to  the  immigration  to  British  Columbia 
from  Great  Britain. 

British  Columbia,  it  was  asserted,  was  especially  suited  to  Eng- 
lishmen. "With  respect  to  the  colony",  wrote  a  correspondent 
of  The  London  Times,  "I  can  safely  say  from  some  experience 
in  these  things  in  my  many  years  of  wandering  service  and  knowl- 
edge of  several  colonies,  that  of  all  in  the  wide  range  of  British 
empire  not  one  is  so  well  adapted  for  Englishmen  in  every  re- 
spect and  to  found  a  family  in.  All  may,  with  ordinary  indus- 
try and  prudence,  gain  a  comfortable  independence  at  an  early 
period  and  many  may  make  fortunes.  The  climate  is  that  of 
Surrey  or  Kent — rather  earlier  and  safer  in  the  spring  as  to 
agriculture — and  always  with  a  thoroughly  grain  ripening  sum- 
mer. '  '7?>  The  crags  and  dells  of  some  parts  of  British  Columbia 
seemed  to  Scotchmen  very  like  those  of  their  native  land,  and  to 
English  wanderers  Christmas  at  Victoria,  much  more  than  at 
Melbourne  or  Calcutta,  seemed  like  a  Christmas  at  home.  These 
considerations,  intensified  by  the  reports  of  the  marvelous  riches 
of  Cariboo  and  promulgated  in  the  columns  of  the  greatly  re- 
spected Times,  produced  early  in  1862  a  furore  for  migration  to 
this  splendid  land  of  promise.74 

In  England  at  this  time,  in  addition  to  the  usual  poverty  and 
misery  among  the  poorer  classes,  there  was  the  distress  caused 
by  the  Civil  War  in  the  United  States.  In  books  on  British 
Columbia  written  by  Englishmen  at  this  period,  there  constantly 
recur  references  to  the  crowded  condition  in  England,  the  little 
chance  that  there  was  to  rise  in  the  world,  and  the  hopeless  out- 
look for  old  age.  "The  subject  of  emigration,"  wrote  Mr.  Mac- 
fie,  "ought  to  be  regarded  by  the  Government  and  philanthro- 
pists as  the  most  important  national  question  that  can  engage 
public  attention,  for  there  is  none  more  vitally  connected  with 


72  Idaho  World,  June  30,  1866. 
"The  London  Times,  Jan.  30,  1862. 
74  Johnson,  Very  Far  West  Indeed,  p.  1. 

[299] 


164  BULLETIN   OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF   WISCONSIN 

the  amelioration  of  poverty  and  the  reduction  of  crime.  You 
can  have  all  sorts  of  societies,  etc.,  but  people  ought  to  be  taken 
out  of  debasing  conditions."15  In  the  old  world,  it  was  asserted, 
society  was  overburdened  with  the  numerical  strength  of  the 
labouring  class.  In  new  society  conditions  were  reversed;  the 
laborer  there  was  "welcomed,  not  repulsed.  His  strong  frame 
there  represents  one  added  unit  of  production  from  a  boundless 
and  untouched  field  of  wealth  which  would  otherwise  be  fallow, 
not  an  additional  supplicant  for  the  alms  of  society,  derived  from 
a  circumscribed  and  over-farmed  enclosure."76  "If  it  were  pos- 
sible," wrote  Hazlitt,  "to  show  many  of  those  who  are  there  [at 
Coventry]  in  a  state  of  actual  distress  a  high  road  by  which  they 
may  secure  for  their  industry  and  skill  a  sphere  in  a  new  land, 
by  which  they  may  find  a  home,  and  a  vigorous  one,  in  this  dis- 
tant colony — great  good  would  no  doubt  be  done. ' '77 

In  order  to  enlighten  the  distressed  classes  and  to  assist  them 
to  go  to  the  new  colony,  it  was  suggested  that  emigration  lectur- 
ers should  be  provided  by  the  Imperial  Government  for  giving 
instruction  in  the  advantages  of  colonization.  "Young  crimi- 
nals/' it  was  urged,  "  susceptible  of  reform,  might  be  sent  with 
the  consent  of  the  colonists. '  '78  Since  the  Government  of  British 
Columbia  was  straining  all  its  resources  to  construct  roads,  it 
had  no  money  for  free  and  assisted  passages  (such  as  were 
granted  by  other  distant  colonies)  nor  for  taking  care  of  immi- 
grants on  arrival,  and  it  was  felt  that  the  mother  country  ought 
to  help  pay  the  expenses  for  these  objects;  but  the  Imperial 
Government  was  following  a  policy  of  economy  in  the  founding 
of  British  Columbia,  and  no  aid  was  given.  Private  philanthro- 
phy  was  more  generous,  and  the  Columbian  Emigration  Society 
was  formed  as  an  adjunct  of  the  Columbian  Mission.  Consid- 
erable money  was  contributed  to  the  cause,  among  the  prominent 
contributors  being  Miss  Burdett-Coutts,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, and  Cavan,  Lubbock,  and  Company,  each  of  whom  gave 


"Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  p.  514. 

76  Johnson,    Very   Far  West  Indeed,   pp.    275-6. 

77  Hazlitt,  Cariboo,  p.  80-81. 
"Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  p.  516. 


[300] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  165 

one  hundred  pounds.  Under  the  auspices  of  this  society  two 
ship-loads  of  female  emigrants  were  sent  to  the  colony.79 

A  noticeable  feature  of  the  attitude  of  British  philanthropic 
workers  toward  emigrants  to  British  Columbia,  as  revealed  in 
the  various  books  of  the  time,  is  paternalism — one  might  almost 
say  grand-motherliness.  Emigrants  were  to  be  incited  to  go. 
and  were  to  be  assisted  and  directed  at  every  turn.  Some  of 
the  directions  were  sufficiently  ludicrous;  as  when  one  author 
includes  in  a  long  list  of  ' '  necessaries ' '  eighteen  white  or  printed 
shirts,  six  coloured  shirts,  three  dozen  collars,  and  twenty-four 
pocket  handkerchiefs.80  At  the  auctions  on  the  street  corners 
in  Victoria,  one  might  see  put  up  articles  utterly  useless  to  men 
expecting  to  face  the  rough  up-country — dress-suits,  dressing 
cases,  and  even,  in  one  instance,  an  elaborate  wash-stand.81  Men 
who  knew  conditions,  however,  advised  very  simple  outfits,  such 
as  those  used  by  American  frontiersmen. 

The  large  emigration  of  1862,  while  it  contained  a  sprinkling 
of  experienced  Welsh  and  Cornish  miners  and  of  veteran  colo- 
nists from  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  for  the  most  part  was 
made  up  of  men  without  capital  and  utterly  unused  to  manual 
labor — clerks,  impecunious  university  men,  "prodigal  sons,  and 
a  host  of  other  romantic  non-de-scripts  who  indulged  in  visions 
of  sudden  wealth  obtainable  with  scarcely  more  exertion  than 
is  usually  put  forth  in  a  pleasure  excursion  to  the  continent  of 
Europe."82  Governor  Douglas  was  besieged  by  applicants  for 
positions,  who  bore  letters  from  influential  persons  in  England. 
Answering  a  letter  of  a  member  of  Parliament,  who  had  men- 
tioned two  emigrants  he  wrote  as  follows :  ' '  The  number  of  re- 
spectable young  men  now  arriving  from  England  and  other 
parts  of  the  world  is  very  great  and  many  of  them  I  fear  will 
be  disappointed,  unless  they  are  prepared  for  the  roughs  and: 
smooths  of  Colonial  life  and  have  a  command  of  capital  sufficient 
to  embark  in  farming  or  in  the  opening  and  working  of  mining 
claims ;  either  of  these  pursuits  being  highly  lucrative,  and  would 


'•Hazlitt,  Cariboo,  pp.  80-82;  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,. pp.  493-7;   Sir 
James  Douglas,  Correspondence  Book,  pp.  64-67,  MS. 
^Hazlitt,  Cariboo,  p.  86. 

81  Johnson,  Very  Far  West  Indeed,  p.  49-50. 

82  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  p.  76. 


[301] 


166  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF   WISCONSIN 

afford  a  profitable  return,  but  without  pecuniary  resources  or 
the  capacity  to  labor  their  condition  will  be  deplorable."83 

The  dreams  of  these  immigrants  faded,  when,  on  arrival  at 
Victoria,  they  found  themselves  still  hundreds  of  miles  from  Car- 
iboo, and  facing  a  journey  which  involved  endless  privations  and 
discomforts  on  the  way  and  hard  manual  labor  at  the  end.  Many 
went  part  way  and  turned  back,  but  a  few  went  through  and  did 
well.  Hundreds  of  young  gentlemen  who  had  arrived  at  Vic- 
toria with  jaunty  air  and  much  luggage  were  reduced  in  the 
following  winter  to  chopping  wood  and  grubbing  stumps  to  es- 
cape starvation.  They  found  that  the  class  distinctions,  to  which 
they  were  accustomed  at  home,  were  of  no  avail  in  the  vigorous 
Bnd  impartial  life  of  the  new  colony ;  Oxford  or  Cambridge  m«?n 
might  be  found  laboring  for  servants — now  prosperous  butchers, 
•draymen,  or  returned  miners — on  whom  they  had  looked  down 
at  home.84 

Such  men,  naturally,  were  bitterly  disappointed  in  the  coun- 
try, and  their  letters  and  narratives  complained  greatly  of  tK» 
privations  which  they  endured  in  this  uncivilized  part  of  the 
world.  In  commenting  on  these  complaints,  The  London  Times 
printed  a  suggestive  editorial,  part  of  which  read  as  follows: 
* '  The  emigrant  to  British  Columbia  would  find  a  soil  as  fertile 
and  a  climate  as  agreeable  as  those  left  behind  him.  The  colony, 
in  fact,  was  precisely  what  so  many  people  have  sighed  for  in  the 
struggles  of  a  home  career.  It  was  a  Britain  without  competi- 
tion and  without  social  difficulties,  where  the  land  was  still  un- 
appropriated and  men  were  worth  more  than  money.  What 
might  have  been  done  in  England  before  the  landing  of  Julius 
Caesar  might  be  done  in  British  Columbia  at  the  present  day. 
It  could  only  be  done,  however,  at  the  same  cost  and  that  fact 
should  never  be  forgotten.  When  England  was  all  common, 


83  Sir  James  Douglas  to  Hon.  C.  Fortesque  M.  P.,  Correspondene  Book,  MS., 
p.  67.  A  different  kind  of  British  participation  in  the  life  of  the  new  colony 
at  this  period  was  manifested  when  British  capital  began  to  come  into  the 
colony  more  freely.  The  Bank  of  British  Columbia  was  founded  by  English 
capitalists  and  had,  besides  the  main  office  at  Victoria,  agencies  at  Nanaimo, 
New  Westminster,  Yale,  and  Cariboo.  Id.,  p.  33  ;  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col., 
p.  87. 

54  Macfie.  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col,  p.  412.  This  author  observes  (p.  77),  that 
even  if  the  immigration  had  been  of  a  sort  best  suited  to  a  new  country, 
"A  much  larger  number  came  than  the  country,  with  a  deficient  supply  of  roads 
was  prepared  to  receive." 

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TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  167 

and  any  man  might  have  an  estate  for  the  choosing,  England  was 
without  roads  or  bridges,  or  the  other  adjuncts  of  civilization. 
It  was  just  as  hard  to  get  from  the  Thames  to  the  Humber  as 
it  is  to  get  from  Victoria  to  Cariboo.  Improvements  and  prop- 
erty came  together.  No  accommodations  can  be  expected  on  No 
Man's  Land.  *  *  *  British  Columbia  is  open  to  occupiers 
only  because  it  has  never  been  occupied,  and  a  country  which 
has  never  been  occupied  cannot  be  traversed  without  difficulty 
or  settled  without  hardships.85 

Through  trials,  indeed,  a  process  of  selection  was  going  on. 
Authors  who  wrote  before  1862  urged  immigration  indiscrimi- 
nately, but  those  who  wrote  after  that  time  are  careful  to  point 
out  classes  which  might  come  and  those  who  should  stay  at  home. 
It  was  to  be  remembered  that  the  problem  of  life  was  simplified 
in  the  colonies,  and  that  there  were  no  aristocratic  middlemen 
who  spring  forth  from  the  * '  luxurious  habits  and  super-abundant 
wealth  of  thickly-populated  districts.88  Hence,  educated  men 
<?ould  not  expect  patrons.  Indeed,  "  clerks,  poor  gentlemen  of 
education  and  breeding  in  quest  of  government  appointments, 
governesses,  school  masters,  and  adventurers  without  funds  and 
trained  to  no  particular  employment, "  stood  small  show  for 
success,  for  the  colony  was  not  far  enough  advanced  for  them.81 
But  men  accustomed  to  physical  labor  and  strong  in  will  might 
come,  and,  particularly,  the  small  farmer.  Female  domestic 
servants  were  in  great  demand  at  high  wages,  and  would  find 
good  chances  for  marriage.  Small  manufacturers  and  merchants, 
millers,  pitch  and  resin  manufacturers,  and  fishermen  with  small 
capital  and  pluck  would  do  well.  Retired  officers  of  the  army 
and  navy  would  find  Victoria  a  lovely  place  in  which  to  live, 
could  utilize  their  land  bounties,  and  could  get  high  rates  of 
interest  for  their  money.  Capitalists  were  especially  welcome, 
for  they  were  needed  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  country 
and  "to  open  the  way  for  the  wider  and  steadier  employment  of 
labor".88  Capitalists  would  get  large  returns  for  the  use  of 
their  money,  and  if,  through  misadventure,  they  lost  it,  a  fresh, 
start  would  be  easy. 

85  Quotation  from  the  London  Times  in  the  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Dec. 
12,   1862. 

86  Johnson,  Very  Far  West  Indeed,  pp.  270-80. 

87  Macfle,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  pp.  493-517. 

88  Id. 

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168 


BULLETIN   OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


CHAPTER  X 


EDUCATION  AND  RELIGION 


While,  as  compared  with  new  agricultural  settlements,  there 
were   few   children   in   the   mining   communities,   nevertheless 
families    gathered    in    all    well-established    camps;    and    the] 
arose  demand  for  some  sort  of  educational  facilities.     This  de- 
mand was  voiced  both  in  British  Columbia  and  the  Americ 
territories,  but  was  responded  to  in  different  ways  in  the  tw< 
regions. 

In  the  American  territories  schools  sprang  quickly  and  spon- 
taneously from  the  people,  and  in  simple  forms.  Private,  or 
subscription  schools  were  usually  the  first  to  start;  such  were 
those  of  Professor  Dimsdale  in  Virginia  City,  of  Miss  Dunlap  in 
Nevada  City,  and  of  Miss  Darling  in  Bannack.1  The  first  public 
school  in  Montana  was  started  in  1866  in  Virginia  City,  the 
school-house  being  the  Union  church.2  One  of  the  perplexities 
of  both  public  and  private  teachers  was  the  almost  amusing  di- 
versity of  text-books,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  parents  of  the 
children  had  come  from  almost  every  state  in  the  Union  and 
brought  text-books  with  them.  The  only  text-book  which  could 
be  bought  in  Virginia  City  was  "Webster's  " little  blue-backed 
speller",  which  cost  one  dollar  each,  and  the  supply  was  soon 
exhausted.  The  interest  of  the  eastern  counties  of  Oregon  in 
education  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  1864  there  were  seven 
school  districts  in  Baker  County  and  six  in  Umatilla  County.5 


1  Miss  Darling  was  an  Ohio  lady,  a  niece  of  Governor  Edgerton,  of  Montana. 
An  interesting  account  of  the  school  taught  by  her,  including  valuable  notes 
on  other  schools,  may  be  found  in  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Hon.,  Vol.  V,  pp.  187-197. 

3  Id.,  pp.  198-9.  Mr.  W.  I.  Marshall,  afterwards  principal  of  the  W.  E.  Glad- 
stone School  in  Chicago  and  well  known  for  his  contributions  to  the  Oregon 
question,  was  for  four  years  principal  of  this  school. 

3  House  Journal  of  Oregon,  1864,  Appendix,  Report  of  County  School  Super- 
intendents. 

[304] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE 


169 


In  Idaho  the  beginnings  of  a  common  school  system  were  almost 
contemporaneous  with  the  founding  of  the  Territory.  At  the 
second  session  of  the  legislature  an  act  was  passed  establishing 
the  system  and  providing  that  5  per  cent  of  all  moneys  paid 
into  the  county  treasuries  and  all  moneys  from  fines  should  be 
used  for  schools.4  One  percentum,  also,  of  the  gross  incomes  of 
toll  roads,  bridges,  and  ferries,  was  to  be  applied  to  school  pur- 
poses.5 J.  H.  Chittenden,  an  energetic  assayer  of  Silver  City, 
who  had  been  a  teacher  in  his  former  home,  was  appointed  Terri- 
torial Superintendent.  His  report  of  1865  mentions  that  there 
were  in  the  Territory  1239  children  of  school  age,  that  there 
were  three  school  houses,  and  that  twelve  schools  had  been  held. 
In  1866  there  was  expended  on  education  in  the  four  leading 
counties  $6,685.'6  These  beginnings  seem  not  discreditable  to 
communities  just  sprung  up  in  the  wilderness,  but  there  are 
many  comments  in  the  literature  of  the  time  on  the  indifference 
shown  to  education,  and  there  was  constant  urging  to  greater 
efforts. 

It  is  noticeable  that  in  the  starting  and  carrying  on  of  the 
schools  in  the  American  territories  religion  and  religious  organi- 
zations had  little  direct  part.  A  bill  was  reported  to  the  Idaho 
legislature,  it  is  true,  which  provided  for  the  ' '  issuance  of  bonds 
for  $30,000,  bearing  interest  at  10  per  cent,  and  payable  to  the 
order  of  Right  Rev.  Francis  Blanchett,  Archbishop  of  Oregon, 
out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  certain  school  lands,  to  enable 
his  reverence  and  the  Sisters  of  Mary  and  Jesus  at  Portland, 
Oregon,  and  the  Sisters  of  Providence,  at  Vancouver,  Washing- 
ton Territory,  to  establish  and  maintain  schools  within  this 
Territory  upon  an  extensive  scale. ' '  In  advocacy  of  the  measure 
it  was  claimed  that  in  Idaho  there  was  a  peculiar  situation,  in 
that  the  male  population  of  the  mining  districts  was  fluctuating, 
and  that  this  arrangement  would  enable  the  parents  to  live  in 
the  mines  and  still  would  allow  the  children  to  be  educated.  The 
opponents  objected  that  the  manner  of  disposing  of  the  lands  de- 


4  Laws  of  the  Territory  of  Idaho,  Second  Session,  pp.  377-83. 

5  Report    of    J.    H.    Chittenden,    Supt.    of    Public    Instruction,    1865,    Owyhee 
Vvalanche,  Oct.  28,  1865. 

•  Hailey,  His.  of  Idaho,  p.  134. 

[305] 


170  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF   WISCONSIN 

pended  upon  Congress,  and  that  such  schools  would  be  aristo- 
cratic.7 The  bill  failed  to  pass,  and  public  schools  in  the  Ameri- 
can Territories  remained  free  from  religious  patronage. 

In  the  English  Colonies,  however,  the  participation  of  the 
church  in  education  was  stimulated  by  the  precedence  of  Koman 
Catholic  schools  at  Victoria,  and  by  1863  two  collegiate  schools 
of  the  Episcopal  church  were  in  existence  there  having 
eight  teachers  and  sixty-one  pupils.  The  desire  for  schools  on 
the  mainland  was  voiced  in  a  petition  from  Yale  to  the  Bishop 
of  Columbia,  in  which  the  married  inhabitants  stated  that  the 
previous  summer  they  had  tried  to  form  a  school,  but  that  it 
"had  succumbed  to  the  strife  for  gold";  that  now  they  hoped 
for  the  establishment  of  schools,  as  well  as  churches,  in  the  vari- 
ous townships;  and  that  such  institutions  would  encourage  in- 
dividuate to  bring  wives  and  children.8  The  bishop  promised  a 
schoolmaster.  A  like  petition  came  from  Hope.  An  address 
from  New  Westminster  praised  the  Bishop's  ideas  in  regard  to 
schools.9  There  was  an  address  also,  from  the  ' '  Clergy,  Church- 
wardens, Members  of  the  Church  of  England  and  Inhabitants  of 
Vancouver's  Island",  which  expressed  pleasure  at  the  "inten- 
tion to  form  and  maintain  schools  for  the  education  of  the  ris- 
ing generation  and  of  Indians.10 

One  of  the  marked  features,  indeed,  of  the  educational  work 
inaugurated  in  the  British  Colonies  under  the  auspices  of  the 
church  was  the  inclusion  of  Indians,  and  even  of  Chinese.  The 
addresses,  mentioned  above,  signify  the  desire  for  education  of 
Indians,  and  English  rectors  formed  classes  for  Chinese.11  In 
the  American  territories,  on  the  other  hand,  education  of  In- 
dians was  not  thought  of  as  a  duty  on  the  part  of  the  local  popu- 


7  Journals   of   the   Council  and  House  of  Representatives  of  IdaJio   Territory, 
Fourth   Session,  pp.  351—7.     In  connection  with  the  beginnings  of  education  in 
the  Inland  Empire,  we  may  note  that,  in  1861,  Rev.  Mr.  Eells  was  at  the  Old 
Mission  at  Walla  Walla,   worn   with   teaching,   and   purposing  to   form  at  that 
place  an  institution  of  higher  learning ;  Oregonian,  Aug.  17,  1861. 

8  Columbian  Mission,  Occasional  Papers,  1860,  App.   I,  p.  37-8. 

9  Id.,  App.,  II  and  III,  pp.  38-41. 

10  Id.,  App.,  IV,  p.  42-3. 

11  A  remarkable  school  and  Indian  settlement  was  founded  by  Wm.  Duncan  at 
Metlakkathlah,   about   twenty   miles   from   Ft.   Simpson ;   on   this    see  HoJcom&e, 
Rev.  J.  J.,  Stranger  than  Fiction. 


[306] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  171 

lation  and  the  instruction  of  Chinamen,  so  far  as  the  author  has 
been  able  to  learn,  was  not  considered. 

But  the  process  of  establishing  public  schools  in  British  Col- 
umbia lacked  the  instantaneousness  and  spontaneity  which  were 
exhibited  in  the  American  districts.  In  1855,  indeed,  three 
schools  of  a  semi-public  character,  the  expense  of  which  was  met 
from  the  colonial  treasury,  were  established  on  Vancouver  Island 
by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  These  were  under  the  super- 
vision of  Rev.  E.  Cridge,  M.  A.  Early  in  1861  need  was  felt 
for  additional  public  schools,  but  it  was  not  until  1865  that  the 
Vancouver  Island  House  of  Assembly  set  aside  ten  thousand 
dollars  for  public  school  purposes.  Mr.  A.  Waddington  became 
superintendent,  and  there  was  an  attendance  of  four  hundred 
pupils.  At  the  union  with  British  Columbia,  however,  in  1866, 
these  schools  were  practically  defunct,  though  some  were  kept 
open  for  a  year  or  two  longer.  After  the  union  a  Common 
School  Ordinance  was  passed  in  1869,  which  was  amended  in 
1870 ;  under  this  ordinance  a  few  new  schools  were  established, 
chiefly  011  the  mainland.  The  system,  however,  did  not  provide 
for  absolute  free  schools,  and  experience  demonstrated  that  these 
were  necessary.  Finally,  on  entering  the  confederation,  a  free 
Public  School  Act  was  passed,  under  which  the  public  school 
system  of  British  Columbia  has  steadily  progressed.12 

The  establishment  of  religious  institutions  was  early  put  in 
train  both  in  the  colonies  and  the  territories,  but,  as  in  the  case 
of  education,  the  process  exhibits  characteristic  differences. 

In  the  American  region  churches  were  sometimes  initiated  by 
local  efforts,  but  more  often  at  the  impulse  of  representatives  of 
eastern  missionary  societies.  At  Silver  City  a  union  church 
building  was  erected,  for  the  most  part  from  local  funds.  At  a 
Christmas  festival  in  1866  it  was  filled  with  "the  youth  and  age 
of  both  sexes ' '  and  many  Christmas  gifts  were  exchanged ;  the 
local  paper  said  that  it  was  "pride  inspiring  and  a  retaste  of 
God's  country."13  At  Boise  City  The  Statesman  mentioned  that 


-  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Public  Schools  of  British  Columbia,  John  Jes- 
sop.  Superintendent  of  Education,  Victoria,  1872,  p.  2.  "There  had  been  a 
public  school  in  New  Westminster  from  about  1863,  supported  by  fees  from  the 
pupils,  supplemented  by  a  Government  grant." — Note  from  Judge  F.  W.  Howay. 

13Owyhee  Avalanche,  Feb.  3,  1866. 


[307] 


172  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

three  clergymen  had  held  services  on  one  Sunday,  and  in  the 
Boise  Basin  Father  Paulin  was  accustomed  to  hold  services  in 
all  the  important  towns.14  Though  there  were  doubtless  in 
Idaho,  as  elsewhere  among  the  miners,  a  good  many  assertive 
skeptics,  yet  respect  was  paid  to  such  representatives  of  religion 
as  Bishop  Tuttle  of  the  "Episcopal  Church:  "The  Bishop  was 
loved  and  respected  by  the  men  of  the  Basin,  no  matter  what 
their  creed  or  nationality,  and  no  matter  how  crowded  the  streets 
might  be,  if  the  men.  saw  the  Bishop  coming,  the  way  was  cleared 
and  as  he  passed,  hats  were  lifted  and  kindly  greetings  given".15 
Bishop  Tuttle  labored  long,  also,  in  Montana,  although  ministers 
of  other  denominations  preceded  him.  In  1864  there  were  at? 
work  in  Montana,  Rev.  Jonathan  Blanchard,  D.  D.,  president  of 
Wheaton  College,  (Illinois),  Rev.  A.  M.  Tarbet,  Baptist;  Rev. 
George  Grantham  Smith,  Presbyterian,  and  Rev.  A.  M.  Hough, 
Methodist.16  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Blanchard  and 
of  Mr.  Smith,  ministers  were  sent  out  as  exploring  missionaries 
by  eastern  societies — in  mining  parlance  one  might  call  such, 
clergymen  prospectors.  Within  a  few  years  following  1864 
church  buildings  of  different  denominations  were  erected  in  all 
the  important  towns. 

Biographical  notes  from  some  of  the  early  preachers  in  the 
mining  communities  give  glimpses  of  the  life  in  these  communi- 
ties. 

The  Rev.  George  Grantham  Smith  arrived  in  Bannack  in  June 
of  1864,  and  his  trunk  was  eighteen  months  in  following  him, 
"So  that  I  was  in  my  first  parish  for  eighteen  months  with  no 
book  save  my  small  English  Bible  without  note  or  comment ;  and 
I  have  the  most  intelligent  and  wide-awake  congregation  I  have 
ever  ministered  unto. ' '  On  his  arrival  the  sight  of  his  umbrella, 
in  a  country  of  very  little  rain,  brought  forth  shouts  up  and  down 
the  street  of  "tenderfoot"  and  "pilgrim."  Since  board  at  the 
hotel  cost  one  hundred  dollars  per  week  in  legal  tender,  Mr. 
Smith  erected  a  rude  cabin  and  boarded  himself.  But  even  then 
when  speculators  sent  flour  to  five  hundred  dollars  per  barrel 


14  Idaho  Weekly  Statesman,  Nov.  19,  1865;  Idaho  World,  April  14,  1862. 

35Hailey,  His.  of  Idaho,  p.  117. 

16  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  292-4. 

[308] 


TR  1MB LE — MIXING  ADVANCE 


173 


(legal  tender),  lie  had  to  live  on  meat  straight.  He  preached 
in  an  unused  store  room,  "  organized  a  Sunday  School  and  com- 
menced regular  Sabbath  services  with  good  and  attractive  audi- 
ences". Later  he  went  over  to  Virginia  City.  There  the  room 
in  which  he  preached  was  next  door  to  a  big  gambling  establish- 
ment, which  had  a  brass  band.  When  the  band  struck  up,  the 
miners  in  Mr.  Smith 's  audience  began  beating  time  so  loudly  with 
their  heavy  boots,  that  the  minister  was  compelled  to  stop ;  then 

|!  a  "long  lank,  lean  fellow  in  buckskins  called  out,  'Boys  never 
mind  the  music.  The  elder  has  the  floor.  You  listen  to  him. 

|]  Elder,  go  on;  you  shall  not  be  disturbed  again'.  I  was  not. 
The  text  was  'Godliness  is  profitable  unto  all  things.'  Still  my 
subject  was  scarcely  grave  enough  to  keep  me  from  laughing 
when  I  dismissed  the  congregation,  for  the  seats  of  the  pants  of 
those  men,  who  had  not  laid  aside  their  American  trousers  and 
come  into  the  full-fledged  native  buckskin,  were  patched  with  all 
the  varied  brands  from  flour  sacks,  such  as  'Superfine',  'I.  X. 
L.',  'Superior',  'Excelsior'  or  'Gilt  Edge".17 

The  work  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Montana  was  well  begun 
by  Bishop  Daniel  S.  Tuttle,  (mentioned  above)  who  preached 
at  Virginia  City,  Deer  Lodge,  Missoula,  Helena,  Butte,  Bozeman, 
and  many  other  places.  It  was  typical  of  his  work  in  Montana, 
he  wrote,  that  many  people,  "who  were  not  churchmen  or  church- 
women,  nevertheless  cast  their  lot  with  us  and  heartily,  loyally, 
and  generously  supported  our  work."  Contributions  were  com- 
paratively large  for  new  communities ;  at  Virginia  City  the  con- 
gregation paid  a  fixed  salary  of  $2,500,  and  at  Helena  $3,000. 
One  singular  contribution  came,  characteristic  of  miners'  ways, 
when  men  urged  a  certain  Scotchman,  who  thought  himself  a 
poet,  to  give  a  public  reading  in  a  hall.  They  industriously  sold 
tickets  and  then  at  the  reading  guyed  the  poor  fellow  unmerci- 
fully. The  proceeds,  $102,  were  given  to  the  Bishop  for  the  use 
of  the  poor.  Although  living  in  a  rude  cabin,  the  Bishop  wrote 
concerning  the  first  year  in  Virginia  City:  "I  am  loth  to  lay 
by  my  pen  in  writing  of  my  first  year  in  Montana.  My  letters 
to  Mrs.  Tuttle  from  the  cabin  are  filled  with  enthusiastic  out- 
bursts over  the  sunniness  and  pleasantness  of  the  winter.  And 


17  Contr.  His.  Soc.,  Mont.,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  295-299. 

[309] 


174  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

that,  too,  though  more  than  once  the  thermometer  registered  into 
the  twenties  below  zero,  and  though  the  winds  piled  some  snow 
through  the  crevices  of  my  abode.  So,  also,  spite  of  the  wild- 
ness  and  wickedness  with  which  I  knew  I  was  surrounded,  and 
spite,  too,  of  a  loneliness  which  would  make  itself  felt,  there  were 
great  stretches  of  sunniness  and  pleasantness  in  my  Virginia 
City  experiences  for  which  then,  and  all  along  after  and  now,  I 
have  thanked  God  and  take  courage."  At  Helena  the  Bishop 
helped  vigorously  in  lighting  the  great  fire  of  February  15,  1869, 
and  marveled  at  the  "buoyancy  and  pluck"  of  the  people  in  at 
once  starting  rebuilding.  His  first  experience  in  Butte  was  de- 
scribed as  follows:  "Butte  was  an  infant  quartz  town,  strug- 
gling with  its  swathing  bands.  No  church  of  any  kind  was  there, 
or  minister  either.  We  secured  the  use  of  an  unfurnished  new 
store  on  Main  street,  fitted  up  a  big  dry  goods  box  for  a  pulpit ; 
stretched  boards  on  carpenter's  *  horses'  for  seats,  and  held  our 
services  in  the  evening.  Sleeping  quarters  were  hard  to  find. 
Some  one  gave  us  two  the  privilege  of  betaking  ourselves  to  his 
cabin.  There  was  no  floor.  Rolled  in  our  blankets  we  went  to 
sleep  on  the  soft  earth.  And  we  thought  ourselves  alone.  When 
we  awoke  next  morning  eleven  fellow  sleepers  were  with  us,  i 
packed  almost  like  the  occupants  of  a  sardine  box."  Sojourn- 
ing thus  in  rough  quarters,  driving  often  long  distances,  the 
young  Bishop  through  many  years  performed  the  kindly  minis- 
trations of  burial,  wedding,  baptism,  and  preaching-18 

The  following  notice  chronicled  the  dedication  of  the  first 
Methodist  church  in  Montana :  ' '  Providence  permitting,  the  first 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Montana  Territory  in  Virginia 
City,  will  be  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God,  Sabbath,  Nov.  6, 
1864.  *  *  a  general  attendance  of  all  lovers  of  Zion  is 

invited."19  The  building  was  made  of  logs  split  in  two  with 
saws,  muslin  was  used  for  windows,  and  there  was  a  dirt  roof 
which  gave  much  trouble.  There  were  thirty  members  at  Vir- 
ginia City.  Of  these  "Brother  Ritchie  was  a  laundryman — class 
leader,  Sunday  School  superintendent,  trustee,  chorister,  and 


18  Tuttle,  Bishop  Daniel  S.,  Early  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Montana, 
Contr.  His.  Soc.,  Mont.,  Vol.  V,  pp.  289-324. 
"Montana  Post,  Oct.   29,   1864. 


[310] 


TRIMBLE— MINI N< 5    ADVAXCi:  175 

sexton."  Brother  Geo.  W.  Forbes  was  "our  financier";  lie 
had  come  in  with  the  first  rush,  having  a  few  hundred  dollars 
and  returned  home  three  years  later  worth  $75,000.  Brother 
J.  B.  Weeks  was  a  quartz  enthusiast,  sturdy  in  frame,  who  spent 
most  of  his  time  prospecting.  Rev.  A.  M.  Hough  was  the  minis- 
ter. At  one  time,  Mr.  Hough,  on  a  trip  to  Prickly  Pear  had  to 
stop  for  a  night  at  Daly's  Ranch.  All  were  compelled  to  stay 
in  the  bar-room,  where  there  was  gambling,  drinking,  and  "huge 
profanity. "  "I  confess  I  was  af aid  as  I  saw  every  man  with  a 
large  knife  and  revolver  strapped  about  him.  I  did  not  know 
the  character  of  those  rough  mountaineers  as  well  then,  as  I 
did  afterwards."  At  bed  time  Mr.  Hough  read  from  the  Bible 
aloud  and  prayed;  there  was  perfect  silence,  a  number  knelt 
in  prayer,  and  profanity  ceased.  In  Prickly  Pear  Valley  he 
preached  once  in  a  saloon,  and  "everything  was  done  to  make 
it  comfortable,  by  the  gentlemanly  proprietor."  Another  sa- 
loon-keeper at  Nevada  City  offered  the  use  of  his  saloon  on  any 
evening  of  the  week,  but  could  not  afford  to  let  it  be  used  on  Sun- 
day. The  people  were  generous  in  contributions,  the  collection 
plates  usually  being  gold  pans;  "Men  drew  out  their  buckskin 
purses,  and  either  poured  out  a  quantity  of  gold  dust  on  the 
plate,  or  took  out  a  pinch  between  the  thumb  and  finger,  which 
would  be  equal  to  25-50  cents."  "Funerals  were  sometimes 
simplified  to  the  last  degree.  I  saw  one  where  the  coffin  was 
made  of  '  shakes, '  a  wheelbarrow  served  as  a  hearse,  and  the  pro- 
cession consisted  of  one  man."  An  interesting  observation  is 
made  by  Mr.  Hough  concerning  enforcement  of  law.  "One  of 
the  things  I  could  never  understand ' ',  he  says,  ' '  was  that  in  com- 
munities where  the  population  was  ready  to  rise  en  masse  and 
hang  men  guilty  of  great  crimes  or  sustain  an  organized  Vigi- 
lance Committee  in  doing  it,  a  legal  conviction  and  execution 
will  not  be  sustained."20 

In  the  activities  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Montana 
the  Society  of  Jesus  was  conspicuous.  This  Order  had  long  had 
well-conducted  establishments  for  the  Indians  at  St.  Ignatius, 
Coeur  d'  Alene,  and  St.  Mary,  though  the  latter  was  now  aban- 


20  Hough,  Rev.  A.  M.,  Establishment  of  our  Mission  in  Montana- 
My  Diary,   MS. 


-Notes  from 


[311] 


176 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


doned.  At  these  stations  white  miners  were  often  entertained 
and,  sometimes,  in  times  of  danger  from  the  Indians,  received 
shelter.  But  the  Jesuits  felt  that  their  first  duty  was  to  the 
Indians,  and  it  was  difficult  to  get  priests  for  the  whites — a 
difficulty  increased  by  the  great  dearth  of  clergymen  caused  by 
the  rapid  rise  of  new  communities  throughout  the  West.  A 
chapel  for  whites  was,  however,  erected  in  1863  near  Hell's  Gate 
Village,  and  Father  Giorda  in  the  same  year  visited  Virginia  City. 
The  first  church  at  that  place,  All  Saints,  was  dedicated  about 
Christmas  time,  1865,  and  at  Helena  the  next  year  a  church  was 
dedicated  to  the  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary.21 

It  would  be  a  mistake,  of  course,  to  think  that  the  mass  of  the 
American  mining  population  was  composed  of  men  who  con- 
formed to  the  requirements  of  religion ;  but  it  is  equally  a  mistake 
to  think  of  this  population  as  entirely  oblivious  of  religion,  or  to 
think  of  the  agencies  of  religion  as  entirely  neglected.  Indeed, 
it  is  surprising  that  the  people  of  the  East,  engaged  in  the  Civil 
War,  should  have  been  as  active  as  they  were  in  trying  to  found 
institutions  of  religion  in  these  far-off  camps. 

In  the  founding  of  religious  institutions  in  the  British  coloni< 
the  efforts  of  the  motherland  to  reproduce  the  main  features  oi 
its  own  society  were  particularly  earnest,  conscious,  and  syste- 
matic. 

Churches  of  several  denominations  were  started  in  Victoria 
and  on  the  mainland.  Congregationalists  were  assisted  by  the 
British  Colonial  Missionary  Society,  and  Presbyterians  by  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Ireland.  The  Jews  had  a  good  syna- 
gogue in  Victoria,  presided  over  by  an  intelligent  and  respected 
rabbi.  A  minister  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  also,  held  services. 
Methodists  were  composed  largely  of  Canadians,  a  fact  which 
may  help  to  explain  the  early  activity  of  that  denomination  in 
Cariboo.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  was  first  in  the  field,  and 
it  possessed  at  Victoria  a  "commodious  church  and  extensive 
schools."  A  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  in  Victoria  had  served 
among  the  Indians  nearly  thirty  years.  It  was  said  that  a  ' '  con- 


21  Palladino,    Rev.    Lawrence,    S.    J.,   Indian   and   White   in   the  Northwest, 
History  of  Catholicity  in  Montana,  Part   II,  Chaps.   III-VI. 


[312] 


TRIMBLE— MIXING   ADVANCE  177 

siderable  portion  of  the  means  by  which  that  Church  is  sus- 
tained comes  from  the  Propaganda  of  Lyons. ' ': 

In  the  establishment  of  these  various  denominations  in  the 
British  Colonies,  there  was  nothing  particularly  distinguishable 
in  the  process  from  that  which  was  going  on  in  the  American  ter- 
ritories ;  but  in  the  planting  of  the  Church  of  England  there  were 
elements  characteristically  British. 

There  was  an  earnest  desire  in  England  that  this  promising 
colony  should  not  be  the  scene  of  such  disorder  and  bloodshed 
and  cruelty  to  Indians  as,  it  was  reported,  had  occurred  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  that  the  institutions  of  England  should  be  early  re- 
produced in  the  Colonies.  The  Diocese  of  Columbia,  accordingly, 
was  created,  and  the  Rev.  George  Hill  was  appointed  Bishop. 
The  revenues  of  the  new  diocese  were  large ;  collections  and  sub- 
scriptions from  various  congregations  in  England  amounted  to 
£15,220,  and  Miss  Burdett-Coutts  gave  an  endowment  of  £25,000. 
In  1862  the  contributions  from  various  sources  were  as  follows : 

Columbian  Mission   £4700 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel £1100 

Church  Missionary  Society £300 

Congregational  efforts    £2000 

Besides,  there  was  raised  in  the  Diocese  itself  in  the  first  three 
years  the  sum  of  £6232.23 

The  interest  taken  in  England  in  the  starting  of  the  Mission 
is  shown  in  the  Report  of  the  Proceedngs  at  a  Public  Meeting. 
Held  in  the  Egyptian  Hall,  Mansion  House,  London,  November 
16,  1859.  .The  meeting  was  called  at  the  request  of  "various 
Merchants,  Bankers  and  Traders"  and  The  Right  Honorable  the 
Lord  Mayor  was  in  the  chair.  In  his  speech  the  Lord  Mayor 

22  If  the  above  report  were  true,  it  is  interesting  to  think  of  a  Church  being 
nourished  in  these  distant  regions  by  the  ancient  community  whose  Christians 
in  the  times  of  Marcus  Aurelius  were  persecuted. 

The  account  in  the  paragraph  is  based  for  the  most  part  upon  Macfie,  Van. 
Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  pp.  77-90.  This  author  makes  a  classification  of  churchmem- 
bers  in  Victoria  according  to  business  engaged  in:  Methodists,  he  says  were 
small  retailers  and  jobbers  ;  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists,  jobbers  and 
larger  store  keepers;  Church  of  England  men,  whole-salers,  bankers  and  law- 
yers. P.  417. 

23  Columbian  Mission,   Occasional  Papers,  1860,  p.  32  ;  Id.  1863,  Pastoral  Ad- 
dresses, p.  5. 

[313] 


178  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

said :  "By  this  discovery  of  gold  it  appears  patent  and  palpable 
to  me  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  have  had  opportunities  given 
them  of  extending  themselves  yet  more  widely,  and  of  peopling 
countries  that  but  a  few  years  ago  were  mere  deserts.  But 
there  is  something  more  than  that.  The  Anglo-Saxon  race,  re- 
membering the  religion  of  their  fathers,  are  anxious  to  maintain, 
implant,  and  support  that  religion  on  the  distant  shores  of  the 
other  side  of  the  globe."  The  Bishop  of  Oxford  spoke  as  fol- 
lows: ''Now,  My  Lord  Mayor,  I  can  hardly  conceive  a  more 
important  matter  to  be  done  by  a  Christian  people  than  that  of 
founding  a  new  colony.  (Hear,  hear.)  England  I  think,  has 
been  for  the  most  part  guilty  in  this  matter.  She  has  thrown 
as  it  were  the  seed  of  men  upon  this  and  that  part  of  the  earth 
without  any  further  consideration  than  that  she  relieves  some 
temporary  press  at  home,  or  gets  rid  of  some  inconvenient  mem- 
bers of  the  home  society.  She  has  seldom  contemplated  *  *  * 
what  it  was  indeed  to  be  the  foundress  of  a  nation.  Of  course 
the  first  conditions,  My  Lord  Mayor,  of  carrying  this  great  work 
out  faithfully  must  be  this :  that  provision  must  be  made  by  the 
founding  nation  for  reproducing  itself,  in  its  own  characteristic 
elements  and  in  its  own  special  institutions,  in  the  distant  land 
to  which  it  sends  its  sons.  *  *  *  This  great  responsibility 
this  nation  is  now  undertaking  in  the  settlement  of  British  Colum- 
bia". At  this  meeting  there  was  announced  a  contribution  from 
Her  Majesty  of  £250  to  the  Mission,  and  from  the  Marquis  of 
Westminster  of  £200.24 

The  Bishop  landed  at  Victoria  in  January  of  1860.  With  him 
were  seven  clergymen  and  three  ladies.  His  diocese  comprised 
both  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia. 

A  serious  question  confronted  him  at  the  start.  This  was 
whether  there  should  be  an  attempt  to  establish  in  the  diocese  a 
State  Church.  For  some  time  there  had  been  very  warm  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject  in  the  colonies,  and  Governor  Douglas  had 
been  bitterly  assailed  for  having  given  some  grants  of  land  on 
which  to  erect  church  buildings  and  for  alleged  favoring  of  a 


24  Columbian  Mission,  Occasional  Papers,  1860,  pp.  17-30. 

[314] 


TRIMBLE— MIXING  ADVANCE  179 

State  Church.25  It  had  been  anticipated  that  the  Bishop  would 
favor  an  Establishment,  but  in  his  first  sermon  he  distinctly 
disavowed  any  such  idea.20 

The  Bishop  made  a  number  of  long  journeys  on  the  mainland, 
on  one  of  which  he  endured  the  terrible  toil  of  a  trip  to  Cariboo, 
when  the  trails  were  still  unimproved.  Brave,  energetic,  and 
patient,  he  adapted  himself  well  to  the  new  strange  life,  mingled 
easily  with  all  classes  of  men,  and  keenly  observed  the  country 
and  its  people.  He  dedicated  a  new  church  at  New  "Westmin- 
ster (the  site  for  which  was  cleared  by  the 'Royal  Engineers), 
and  preached  in  a  saloon  at  Antler  Creek.  Communicants  were 
few,  but  audiences  were  good  and  of  every  religious  complexion — 
"Wesleyans,  Presbyterians,  Roman  Catholics,  Socinians;  Jews 
and  Deists,  Tom  Painists,  Phrenological  Materialists,  Atheists." 
It  was  remarkable,  as  an  old  major  of  the  United  States  Army 
commented  in  Cariboo,  "how  those  brought  up  in  the  Epis- 
copal Church  retained  their  affection  for  it,  and  how  adherence 
was  continued  from  father  to  son".  There  seemed  a  marked 
difference  in  the  respect  paid  to  religion  by  Canadians  and  those 
from  others  of  ' '  our  colonies ' ',  as  compared  with  other  miners — 
not  a  few  of  whom  were  abusive  of  religion.  The  Bishop's  life 
in  the  new  world  often  contrasted  strangely  with  his  life  in 
England:  "On  this  my  44th  birthday",  he  wrote  in  his  jour- 
nal, "I  awoke  on  the  floor  of  a  log  hut,  in  the  wild  and  almost 
inaccessible  recesses  of  the  Cascade  Mountains,  the  Frazer  (sic) 
flowing  at  my  feet."  But  the  Bishop  rejoiced  in  the  glorious 
scenery  of  the  Fraser  and  made  no  word  of  complaint.  He  liked 
to  talk  with  miners  and  packers,  and  admired  the  enterprise,  inge- 
nuity, and  versatility  of  the  Americans.  To  the  condition  of  the 
Indians  he  gave  sympathetic  attention.  In  his  work  he  had 
earnest  helpers,  such  as  the  reverend  gentlemen,  Brown,  Sheep- 
shanks,  Reynard,  and  Knipe.  By  1863  there  were  in  the  diocese 
eleven  churches,  six  mission  chapels,  and  eighteen  stations, 
served  by  fifteen  clergymen  and  three  catechists.  The  work 


23  Columbian  Mission,  1860,  p.  13  ;  A  petition  to  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  New- 
castle, Her  Majesty's  Principal  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies, — The  British 
Columbian,  Feb.  28,  1861 ;  Pemberton,  J.  D.,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  p.  132. 

26Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col,  p.  354-5. 

[315] 


180  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF   WISCONSIN 

was  carried  on  in  the  towns,  the  rural  districts,  and  the  mines, 
and  among  the  Indians  and  in  education.27 

The  work  in  Cariboo,  for  years  "the  very  heart  and  center 
of  the  whole  colony",  was  especially  significant.  Rev.  Mr.  Gar- 
rett  and  others  laboured  there  for  a  number  of  summers;  but  in 
the  summer-time  when  the  water  was  running,  the  miners  were 
so  intent  on  their  work  that  they  would  pay  little  attention  to 
religious  services.  By  1866,  however,  many  miners  and  mer- 
chants had  come  to  winter  in  Cariboo,  and  the  resident  popula- 
tion was  estimated  at  2000.  These  men  were  idle  during  the 
winter,  and  then  was  the  opportunity  for  getting  hold  of  them. 
It  was  felt  that  a  resident  clergyman  was  needed.  But  it  was 
perceived,  also,  that  this  field  demanded  an  able  man — "active, 
affable  yet  self-contained,  wise,  prudent,  patient."  "This  em- 
phatically ' ',  wrote  the  Rev.  Mr.  Garrett,  * '  is  not  the  place  for  an 
inferior  man ' '. 

To  this  difficult  field  Rev.  J.  Reynard,  Principal  of  the  Indian 
Mission  at  Victoria,  volunteered  to  go  with  his  wife  and  family, 
and  he  was  assigned  the  post.  When  it  was  known  that  they  pro- 
posed to  stay  the  winter  in  Cariboo,  there  were  emphatic  remon- 
strances: "They  will  starve,"  telegraphed  Chief -justice  Begbie 
to  the  Bishop.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Reynard  and  his  family  ar- 
rived in  Barkerville  in  August  1867  and  settled  down  in  a  two- 
roomed  cabin  at  a  rental  of  $60  per  month. 

The  ideal  of  this  ministry  may  be  given  in  Mr.  Reynard 's  own 
words.  "I  hope,"  he  wrote,  "to  live  amongst  my  flock  the 
simple,  straight-forward  life  of  a  '  Country  Parson, '  exercising  a 
frank  and  cheerful  hospitality;  showing  to  many,  sundered  by 
years  and  thousands  of  leagues  from  early  influences,  that  homes 
do  still  exist.  I  purpose  to  carry  to  the  outlying  creeks  and 
lonesome  settlements  of  this  wild  land  the  kindly  ministrations 
of  religion ;  to  help  and  direct  all  innocent  amusements,  and  to 
afford  to  the  frugal  and  industrious  Chinese  some  light  of  school- 
ing and  Christian  truth."28  Again  at  the  end  of  his  third  year 
Mr.  Reynard  wrote  as  f ollows :  "I  look  back  on  the  past  winter 


27  The  sources  for  this  paragraph  are  the  Journals  of  Bishop  Hill  from  1860 
and  for  1862-3.     These  are  found  in  Occasional  Papers,  1860  and   1863 ;  also 
extracts  from  that  of  1860  in  Hazlitt's  Cariboo,  pp.  158-165. 

28  Occasional  Papers,  Report,   1869,  p.  56. 


[316] 


THIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  181 

with  great  satisfaction.  Every  step  in  advance  has  been  honor- 
ably striven  for, — won  by  unstinted  unslackening  effort.  I  hope 
still,  with  God's  help,  to  go  on:  reasoning  of  *  righteousness, 
temperance  and  judgment  to  come',  helping  on  all  that  is  'honest 
and  of  good  report',  turning  to  the  service  of  Christ  men  hard 
indeed  to  impress,  but  so  well  worth  the  effort".29 

The  trials  of  the  work  were  severe.  Hardly  was  Mr.  Reynard 
well  settled,  when  a  mining-camp  fire  swept  over  the  settlement, 
destroying  one  hundred  houses.  The  old  church  by  which  he 
hoped  to  pay  for  a  cottage,  was  burnt.  ' i  Lamps,  benches,  books, 
robes" — articles  hard  to  replace  in  Cariboo — were  gone.  Most 
people  advised  him  to  leave,  ''but  this  I  cannot  do,  dare  not,  will 
not  think  of".  There  was  a  good  deal  of  bold  and  brutal  infi- 
delity among  the  miners;  some  asserted  that  "religions  are  all 
alike — useless  and  purposeless".  "It  has  been  a  cruel  time," 
he  wrote,  "hopeless  and  bookless";  but  the  "old  Yorkshire 
tenacity  of  purpose"  held  true.  Solace  came  with  the  arrival 
of  some  books,  and  once  more  he  felt,  in  his  own  words,  "totus 
teres  atque  rotundus".  Soon  after,  however,  came  a  spell  of 
severe  cold  when  the  mercury  l '  at  one  leap ' '  went  to  thirty-eight 
degrees  below  zero  and  then  froze.  The  parson,  unskilled  as 
most  Englishmen  in  the  use  of  the  axe,  cut  his  hand  badly. 
While  suffering  from  this  wound,  he  took  his  son  along  to  the 
place  where  he  held  meetings,  in  order  to  distribute  books,  and 
the  boy 's  foot  was  so  badly  frozen  that  the  skin  peeled  off.  ' '  And 
now,  my  lord,  I  felt  beaten,  tyrannous,  cold,  maimed  hand  and 
foot — for  the  first  time  incapable  of  the  world 's  work — my  '  hands 
hung  down',  and  I  felt  as  I  think  I  should  had  I  been  another 
sort  of  soldier,  and,  stricken  down  at  the  beginning  of  some  great 
battle,  heard  my  comrades  pass  on  *  shouting'  for  the  victory". 
In  another  time  of  extreme  cold,  "a  fifth  little  recipient  of  our 
Saviour 's  grace  and  tender  pity  was  born  unto  us.  We  were 
poor  then,  my  lord,  and  the  cold  made  life  all  the  harder  *  *  *. 
What  wonder,  then,  that  the  mother's  maternal  'joy  that  a  man 
was  born  into  the  world  was  attempered  with  emotions  of  pure 
tenderness,  and  piteous  moans  of  '  My  poor  baby,  thou  'rt  come  to 
a  cold  world.'  :  In  the  bed  near  the  stove  the  port  wine  froze. 


29  Occasional  Papers,  Report  of  1870,  p.  58. 

[317]   ; 


182  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

But,  ' '  We  had  a  true  neighbor  in  Mrs.  Lee.  My  hand  was  better 
and  we  pulled  through".  "That  poor  baby,  blue  with  cold", 
Mr.  Reynard  wrote  the  next  summer,  ' l  is  now  a  great  hearty  lad 
all  smiles  and  dimples." 

One  of  the  main  efforts  of  Mr.  Reynard's  work  in  Cariboo  was 
to  keep  the  young  men  away  from  the  saloons  and  dance  houses. 
To  this  end  he  organized  a  "Church  Institute"  and  advertised 
it  in  the  Cariboo  Sentinel.  On  Monday  evening  instruction  in 
Latin  and  English  was  offered,  and  on  Tuesday  evening  there  was 
band  practice;  on  Wednesday  and  Saturday  evenings  the  room 
was  opened  for  reading,  chess,  etc.,  the  magazines  available  being 
Blackwood,  Cornhill,  the  Edinburg  Quarterly,  and  the  Pall  Mall 
Budget ;  on  Thursday  evening  there  were  algebra  and  arithmetic, 
and  on  Friday  choir  practice.  An  offer,  probably  often  ac- 
cepted, was  that  more  elementary  instruction  would  be  given,  if 
required.  Some  Chinese  studied  under  Mr.  Reynard,  among 
whom  were  four  Tartars  "men  of  remarkable  concentration"; 
the  Chinese  proper  he  found  full  of  fun  and  more  simpleliearted. 
Mr.  Reynard  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  wide  culture  with  a 
taste  for  teaching,  and  with  something  of  genius  for  music.  The 
classes  in  music  were  well  attended,  and  "a  good  'hearty,  joyful 
noise'  my  Cariboo  chorus  makes."  "Often  I  have  felt  repaid 
for  all  this  exertion",  he  wrote,  "when  going  home  I  have  seen 
the  gleam  of  a  cariboo  lantern  going  up  and  up  the  snow-clad 
hillside,  and  heard  from  the  distant  heights  phrases  of  quaint 
madrigals  or  melodious  glees.  Then  the  cheery  'good  nights' 
would  be  heard,  as  one  by  one  the  tenants  of  the  lonely  cabins 
reached  home,  and  the  manly  bass  of  the  last  man  having  farthest 
to  travel  was  heard  fainter  and  fainter.  '  Music  made  the  winter 
fly'  they  said".30 

A  mission  journey  of  some  six  hundred  miles  one  summer  re- 
lieved the  tedium  of  Cariboo.  The  country  on  the  road  to  Lil- 
loet  appeared  "most  attractive  in  its  varied  beauty"  after 
' '  long  experience  of  the  creeks  and  sombre  pine  clad  mountains 
of  Cariboo".  In  the  course  of  the  journey  on  one  occasion  he 
preached  to  some  sturdy  lads  about  being  "good  soldiers  'fight- 


so  A   Cariboo   lantern   consisted   of   a   bottle    with   the   bottom    broken   off,   in- 
verted, and  a  candle  inside. 

[318]    , 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  183 


ing  a  good  fight',  by  being  brave,  honest,  simple,  pure  in  heart", 
and  contrasted  such  with  cowards,  deserters  and  traitors ;  on  an- 
other he  told  an  Indian  beating  his  wife,  "God  hates  anger 
*  *  *.  Give  the  wife  good  words,  and  untie  her  hands ;  a  wife 
is  not  a  slave."  At  Clinton  he  held  service  in  the  hotel  parlor 
on  Sunday  afternoon,  "but  a  party  of  Oregon  horse-dealers  hav- 
ing advertised  a  race  only  a  few  attended." 

In  Cariboo  the  church  service,  especially  the  music,  attracted  a 
varied  congregation.  At  one  service  the  minister  caught  sight 
of  the  jack  of  clubs  peeping  from  a  gambler's  pocket;  and  an 
Even  Song  Service  brought  in  strangers  of  "all  nations:  Euro- 
peans, two  Chinamen,  and  a  few  Indians.  In  the  remotest 
corner  was  a  Lascar,  his  dark  oriental  face,  lean  figure  and  gleam- 
ing eyes  in  contrast  to  the  rest."  A  main  purpose  of  Mr.  Rey- 
nard in  Cariboo  was  the  building  of  a  church  "worthy  of  our 
system",  "a  decorous  church  that  can  give  strength  to  the  par- 
son as  well  as  influence  to  the  people. ' '  But  in  this  project  he 
met  much  discouragement  and  ridicule.  "The  Barkerville 
people  at  this  time  grieved  me  much",  he  wrote.  "Cruel  people 
du  pays!  ready  to  worship  success  with  mean  adulation,  ready  to 
think  one  defeated  and  then,  voe  victis. ' '  It  was  only  with  diffi- 
culty that  men  could  be  found  willing  to  serve  on  the  Church 
Committee,  this  unwillingness  arising  in  part,  however,  from  dis- 
inclination to  give  up  Sunday  labor.  Material  for  building  was 
expensive,  the  carriage  of  glass  from  Victoria  costing  $127,  which 
was  six  times  the  original  cost.  But,  finally,  the  following  notice 
appeared  in  the  Cariboo  Sentinel  of  September  24th,  1870:  "St. 
Saviors  Church".  "Rev.  James  Reynard  formally  opened  the 
new  church  bearing  the  above  name  in  Barkerville  on  Sunday 
last.  A  larger  number  of  people  than  usual  attended  the  service, 
and  the  completion  of  the  church  was  the  occasion  of  much  con- 
gratulation toward  Mr.  Reynard,  who  has  shown  a  great  deal  of 
patience,  energy  and  industry  in  the  work  he  undertook. ' ' 

Mr.  Reynard  acknowledged  that  his  work  in  Cariboo  was  not 
a  great  numerical  success,  but  "It  has  gathered  round  me  the 
young,  the  intelligent — the  better  sort  every  way :  it  is  an  influ- 
ence to  strengthen  all  that  is  good,  honest,  true ;  to  help  the  waver- 
ing by  frank  companionship,  and  profference  of  the  solid  for  the 

[319] 


IS 4  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

doubtful ;  an  influence  to  warn  the  fallen ;  while  it  is  an  undying- 
protest  against  all  that  is  reckless  and  wanton". 

Mr.  Reynard  stayed  one  more  winter  in  Cariboo,  and  then,  his 
health  having  failed,  he  was  transferred  to  Nanaimo.  "The 
loss",  said  the  report  of  1871,  "is  great  for  Cariboo,  and  no  one 
has  been  found  to  take  his  place".31 

It  would  seem  clear,  we  may  say  in  conclusion,  that,  though 
there  were  characteristic  differences  in  forms  of  religious  action 
in  the  colony  and  in  the  Territories,  the  mining  advance  in  both 
regions  was  accompanied  by  early,  vigorous,  and,  in  a  measure, 
successful  efforts  to  plant  in  the  new  fields  the  institutions  of  re- 
ligion. 


31  The  material  for  this  account  of  the  Cariboo  mission  has  been  derived 
from  the  Occasional  Papers  and  Reports  of  the  Columbian  Mission,  1868-71. 
I  have  not  had  access  to  a  wider  range  of  sources,  which  might  reveal  other 

aspects. 


[320] 


PART  IV 


LAW  AND  GOVERNMENT 


[321] 


TRIMBLE — MINING  ADVANCE  187 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  GOVERNMENT  AND  LAW  IN 
BRITISH  COLUMBIA 

In  considering  the  establishment  of  government  and  law  in 
British  Columbia,  we  shall  limit  our  study  to  the  period  preced- 
ing union  in  1866  with  the  Colony  of  Vancouver  Island,  and,  for 
the  most  part,  to  the  administration  of  Sir  James  Douglas.1 

Sir  James  Douglas  stands  out  as  the  most  significant  figure  in 
the  history  of  the  mining  advance.  He  had  in  British  Columbia, 
it  is  true,  able  and  distinguished  coadjutors,  and  south  of  the 
Line  there  arose  in  many  localities  energetic  and  determined 
leaders,  greatly  worthy  of  respect;  but  in  neither  region  was 
there  any  one  person  whose  life  was  so  broadly,  essentially,  and 
commandingly  impressed  upon  his  time  as  was  that  of  the  first 
governor  of  British  Columbia. 

Douglas  was  born  on  the  island  of  Demarara  in  the  West  In- 
dies in  1803.  As  a  lad  of  seventeen  he  took  service  with  the 
North  West  Fur  Company  and,  on  the  merging  of  that  company 
into  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  continued  in  the  employ  of  the 
latter,  his  field  of  activity  being  the  region  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  A  young  man  of  energy  and  decision,  Douglas  rose 
rapidly  in  the  company's  ranks  until  finally  he  became  Chief 
Factor.  In  addition  to  this  office,  he  was  appointed  in  1851  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Colony  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  these  two  offices 
he  held  when  in  the  spring  of  1858,  as  has  been  narrated  in  a 
former  chapter,  came  the  great  influx  of  miners  which  brought 
about  the  founding  of  the  Colony  of  British  Columbia.2 


1  It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  important  process  of  unification  with 
Vancouver  Island  and  then  of  confederation  in  the  Dominion,   but  such   study 
would  digress  from  the  purpose  of  this  work. 

2  Chapter  III. 

[323] 


188  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

For  two  years  before  the  great  movement  to  the  Fraser  River, 
as  we  have  there  noted,  Mr.  Douglas  had  kept  gathering  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  the  discoveries  of  gold  on  the  mainland  and 
had  transmitted  this  information  to  the  colonial  office  and  to  the 
officials  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  London.  In  his 
letters  to  the  home  authorities  there  is  constant  recurrence  to  the 
danger  to  be  apprehended  from  trouble  between  the  Indians  and 
whites,  in  case  of  large  numbers  of  the  latter  coming  into  the 
country;  to  the  necessity  for  keeping  order  and  the  need  of  a 
military  force  for  that  purpose;  and  to  the  requirement,  conse- 
quently, of  adequate  revenue  from  some  quarter.3  Even  before 
the  coming  of  the  miners  in  large  numbers,  on  December  28th, 
1857,  Mr.  Douglas  issued  a  proclamation  (which  he  caused  to  be 
published  in  the  newspapers  of  Oregon  and  Washington),  in 
which  he  asserted  that  "by  Law  all  mines  of  Gold  and  all  Gold 
in  its  natural  state  of  deposit  within  the  Districts  of  Frazer; 
Kiver,  and  of  Thompson  River,  commonly  known  as  the  Quaat- 
Ian,  Couteau,  or  Shewshap  countries,  whether  on  the  lands  of 
the  Queen  or  any  of  Her  Majesty's  subjects,  belong  to  the 
Crown".  All  persons  were  forbidden  to  search,  dig,  or  take 
gold  without  being  duly  authorized  by  "Her  Majesty's  Colonial 
Government";  such  authorization  (announced  in  " Regulations " 
issued  the  next  day)  was  to  be  conferred  by  license  obtainable 
at  Victoria  and  was  dependent  upon  the  payment  of  twenty-one 
shillings  per  month.4 

In  asserting  the  ownership  in  the  Crown  of  precious  metals 
whether  found  in  Crown  lands  or  in  those  privately  owned,  Mr. 
Douglas  was  acting  in  conformity  to  English  law  and  precedent, 
but  in  contrast  to  the  customs  which  held  sway  in  the  American 


3  Copies  of  a  number  of  these  letters  are  printed  in  Cornwallis,  The  New  El 
Dorado,  pp.  341-368. 

4  British  Columbia  Proclamations,  pp.  1-3.     So  late  as  May  8,  1858,  however, 
this    system    had    not    come    into    operation.      (Dispatch    to    Right    Hon.    Henry 
Labouchere,  May  8,  1858).     In  June,  however,  the  requirements  were  decisively 
put  in  force.     At  Victoria  there  was  a  long  line  of  men  at  the  Fort  to  obtain 
licences  and   H.   B.   M's  steamer   Satellite  was   stationed   at   the   mouth   of  the 
Fraser  with  orders  to  allow  no  one  to  proceed  up  river  without  a  license.     On 
one   occasion    some   fifty   passengers,   mostly   Irishmen,    on   board   the   American 
steamer  Surprise,  refused  to  take  out  licenses,  but  were  cowed  by  a  file  of  ma- 
rines.     (Victoria    Gazette,   June    30,    1858).     Still,    miners    who    came   overland 
evaded   the   license,   and  few   paid  for  more  than  one    month.      (De   Groot,   Br. 
Col.,;  Its   Condition  and  Prospects,  p.  23.) 

[324] 


TRIMBLE — MINING  ADVANCE  189 

[territories.  The  principle  on  which  the  American  miners  acted 
[was  expressed  by  Governor  Stevens  when,  in  protesting  against 
the  British  tax,  he  wrote:  "in  the  absence  of  positive  law  pro- 
rhibiting  such  occupation  and  use,  it  is  believed  to  be  the  natural 
right  of  every  man  who  enters  a  totally  unoccupied  country  to 
cut  timber  and  wood,  to  consume  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and 
gather  all  the  products  of  the  soil,  which  have  not  before  been 
appropriated".5 

The  authority  of  Mr.  Douglas  for  issuing  the  above  proclama- 
tion and  regulations,  indeed,  was  questionable.  The  form  used 
in  making  the  proclamation  was  "By  His  Excellency  James 
Douglas,  Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Colony  of 
Vancouver's  Island  and  its  dependencies,  and  Vice  Admiral  of 
the  same,  etc."  Douglas  himself  wrote  on  this  point:  "My 
authority  for  issuing  that  proclamation,  seeing  that  it  refers  to 
certain  districts  of  continental  America,  which  are  not  strictly 
speaking  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Government,  may  per- 
haps be  called  in  question;  and  I  trust  that  the  motives  which 
have  influenced  me  on  this  occasion,  and  the  fact  of  my  being 
invested  with  authority  over  the  premises  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  the  only  authority  commissioned  by  her  Majesty's 
Government  within  reach,  will  plead  my  excuse.  Moreover, 
should  her  Majesty's  Government  not  deem  it  advisable  to  en- 
force the  rights  of  the  Crown,  as  set  forth  in  the  proclamation, 
it  may  be  allowed  to  fall  to  the  ground  and  become  a  mere  dead 
letter."6  Her  Majesty's  Government,  however,  through  Sir  E. 
Bulwer  Lytton  approved  the  course  of  Douglas  "in  asserting 
both  the  dominion  of  the  Crown  over  this  region,  and  the  right 
of  the  Crown  over  the  precious  metals."7 

Another  proclamation,  however,  was  distinctly  disallowed  by 
the  home  Government,  and  was  bitterly  assailed  by  many  per- 
sons in  the  colony  and  in  the  American  territories.  This  was 
the  proclamation  of  May  8,  1858,  heretofore  discussed,  which 


3  Letters  from  Isaac  I.  Stevens,  Congressional  Delegate  from  Washington 
Territory,  to  Hon.  Lewis  Cass,  Secretary  of  State,  July  21,  1858,  found  in  Corn- 
wallts,  New  El  Dorado,  pp.  322-337. 

•  Douglas  to  Labouchere,  Dec.  29,  1857,  Cornwallis,  Neic  El  Dorado,  p.  34S-9. 

T  Secretary  Sir  E.  Bulwer  Lytton  to  Governor  Douglas,  July  1,  1858,  id.f  p. 
S66— 7. 


[325] 


190  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

forbade  trade  and  navigation  on  the  Fraser  River  except  on 
sufferance  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.     It  was  claimed  that 
the  miners  were  deprived  of  supplies  badly  needed,  that  the 
whole  mining  population  was  forced  to  pay  toll,  that  the  profits 
from  furnishing  supplies  from  California,  Oregon,  and  "Wash- 
intgon  would  be  diverted  to  the  coffers  of  the  company,  and  that 
trade  with  London  would  be  stifled.8     Indeed,  the  restrictions 
sought  to  be  imposed  were  sufficiently  rigorous,  especially  when 
contrasted  with  the  free-for-all  attitude  in  the  American  terri-; 
tories.     A  sufferance  for  canoes  cost  six  dollars,  and  for  larger: 
vessels  twelve;  the  use  of  any  unoccupied  Crown  land  by  the} 
erection  of  a  temporary  building  or  tent  for  the  purpose  of  carry- 
ing on  trade,  thirty  shillings  per  month,  and  licenses  for  selling 
liquors,  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  twenty  pounds  per  annum. 
In  defense  of  his  course  the  governor  claimed  that  the  Hudson  Vi 
Bay  Company  were  not  accountable  for  the  prohibitions,  but  the  j 
customs-law  of   Great  Britian,   in  accordance  with  which  all> 
persons  not  nationals  were  excluded  from  trade  on  the  Fraser 
Eiver.9 

In  fact  there  was  a  tangle  of  interests  at  this  time,  and  Gover- 
nor Douglas,  standing  at  the  central  point  of  the  swift  whirl  of 
events  and  somewhat  apprehensive  of  the  American  advance, 
with  strong  feeling  of  loyalty  to  the  great  company  for  whose 
interests  he  had  so  long  planned  and  toiled,  yet  with  some 
promptings  of  imperialism  and  with  growing  ambition  for  dis- 
tinction in  the  Colonial  Service, — by  no  means,  indeed,  unmind- 
ful of  the  welfare  of  the  miners, — pursued  a  conservative  and 
tentative  course.  All  legislation  for  British  Columbia  up  to 
the  formal  announcement  (in  November,  1858)  of  the  annulment 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  License  to  Trade  and  of  the 
establishment  of  the  new  government  was  exigent  and  temporary. 
On  the  whole,  British  Columbia  may  be  counted  fortunate  that 
there  was  available  in  her  hurried  birth  throes  at  the  time  of  a 
great  mining  rush  a  man  who  knew  thoroughly  the  country,  who 
was  intimately  acquainted  with  the  Indians  and  with  Indian 


8  See  Steven's  letter  to  Secretary  Cass,  Cornwallis,   New  El  Dorado,  p.   336 
also,  for  various  points  of  view  consult  id.,  pp.  392-400. 
'  British  Columbia  Proclamations,  p.  7. 

[326] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  191 

habits,  and  who  was  trained  in  a  great  administrative  system — 
a  man  masterful  and  firm  (if  at  times,  perhaps,  mistakenly  so) 
and  at  any  rate,  a  man  who  applied  himself  with  diligence  and 
devotion  and  thoughtfulness  to  a  great  work.  The  British  co- 
lonial administration  system  did  not  always  have  at  hand  men 
of  the  calibre  of  Douglas,  and  so,  in  any  comparison  of  the  gov- 
ernmental systems  north  and  south  of  the  Line,  it  is  at  least 
fair  to  make  allowance  for  the  happy  coincidence,  in  the  case  of 
British  Columbia,  of  a  formative  time  and  a  superior  leader. 

The  home  government  was  not  dilatory  in  taking  the  necessary 
steps  for  the  establishment  of  government  in  "certain  wild  and 
unoccupied  territories  on  the  northwest  coast  of  North  America, 
commonly  known  by  the  designation  of  New  Caledonia. "  The 
act  to  provide  for  the  government  of  British  Columbia  was 
passed  August  2,  1858.  In  the  preamble  it  was  declared  that 
"it  is  desirable  to  make  some  temporary  provision  for  the  civil 
government  of  such  territories,  until  permanent  settlements  shall 
be  thereupon  established,  and  the  number  of  colonists  increased ' '. 
The  most  important  clause  was  that  which  empowered  Her  Maj- 
esty by  orders  in  council  "to  make,  ordain  and  establish,  and  (sub- 
ject to  such  conditions  or  restrictions  as  to  her  shall  seem  meet) 
to  authorize  and  empower  such  officer  as  she  may  from  time  to 
time  appoint  as  Governor  of  British  Columbia,  to  make  pro- 
vision for  the  administration  of  justice  therein,  and  generally 
to  make,  ordain,  and  establish  all  such  laws,  institutions,  and  or- 
dinances as  may  be  necessary  for  the  peace,  order  and  good  gov- 
ernment of  her  Majesty's  subjects  and  others  therein",  provided 
that  all  such  orders  in  council,  and  all  laws  and  ordinances, 
"shall  be  laid  before  both  Houses  of  Parliament  as  soon  as  con- 
veniently may  be  after  the  making  and  enactment  thereof  re- 
spectively." It  was  to  be  lawful  for  her  Majesty,  whenever 
she  might  judge  it  convenient  by  an  order  in  council  to  empower 
the  governor  to  constitute  a  legislature  to  be  composed  of  a 
Council  or  Council  and  Assembly,  "to  be  composed  of  such  and 
so  many  persons,  and  to  be  appointed  or  elected  in  such  manner 
and  for  such  periods,  and  subject  to  such  regulations,  as  to  her 
Majesty  may  seem  expedient".  Appeals  in  civil  suits  might  be 
taken  to  her  Majesty  in  council  in  the  same  manner  as  suits 

[327] 


192  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

in  Canada,  but  subject  to  such  further  regulations  as  her  Maj- 
esty, with  the  advice  of  the  Privy  Council,  might  enact.  No  part 
of  the  colony  of  Vancouver  Island  was  to  be  comprised  within 
the  new  colony,  but  on  the  reception  of  an  address  from  the  two 
houses  of  the  legislature  of  Vancouver's  Island,  her  Majesty 
might  annex  that  colony  to  British  Columbia.  The  act  was  to 
continue  in  force  until  the  end  of  the  then  next  session  of  parlia- 
ment.10 

Some  interesting  features  are  found  in  the  debates  in  parlia- 
ment upon  this  act.  There  was  very  considerable  hostility  shown 
towards  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and,  therewith,  adverse 
criticism  of  Governor  Douglas.  Some  members  showed  compre- 
hension of  the  trials  of  a  young  mining  community;  as,  for  ex- 
ample, Mr.  Roebuck,  who  declared  his  belief  that  lynch  law 
really  might  be  a  beneficial  institution.  Mr.  Gladstone  some- 
what passionately  protested  against  the  mode  of  founding  a  col- 
ony as  outlined  in  the  act,  for  it  allowed  too  autocratic  power, 
he  asserted,  to  the  Crown  and  to  the  governor  of  the  colony.  Sir 
E.  Bulwer  Lytton  in  defense  said  that  the  immediate  object  was 
to  establish  temporary  law  and  order;  and  added  that,  besides 
the  promising  outlook  in  gold  mining,  "more  national,  if  less 
exciting,  hopes  of  the  importance  of  the  colony  rest  upon  its 
other  resources  *  *  *  and  upon  the  influence  of  its  mag- 
nificent situation  upon  the  ripening  grandeur  of  British  North 
America."11 

The  position  of  governor  was  conferred  upon  Mr.  Douglas  on 
strict  condition  of  his  giving  up  all  connection  with  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company;  but  he  still  continued  to  be  governor  of 
Vancouver  Island.  Matthew  Bailie  Begbie  was  appointed  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  British  Columbia,  and  other  officials 
were  named  by  the  Crown  for  the  positions  of  Colonial  Secretary, 
Treasurer,  Attorney  General,  Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Sur- 
veyor General,  Collector  of  Customs,  Chief  Inspector  of  Police, 
Eegister  General  and  Harbor  Master.12  The  new  colony  was 


10  British  State  Papers,  1858-9,  pp.  739-42  ;  a  copy  of  the  Act  is  found  also 
in  Cornwallis,  New  El  Dorado,  pp.  317-22. 

11  Hansard,  Parliamentary  Debates,  pp.  1096-1121  and  1762-1770. 

12  The  London  Times,  March  24,  1859  ;  British  Columbia  Proclamations,  p.  151. 


[328] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  193 

formally  declared  at  Langley,  November  19,  1858.  Proclama- 
tions were  issued  at  the  same  time  which  declared  English  law 
in  force  in  British  Columbia  and  which  indemnified  the  gov- 
ernor for  previous  acts.13 

Before  we  proceed  to  discuss  the  main  features  of  the  admin- 
istration of  Governor  Douglas,  it  may  be  well  to  make  some 
inquiry  as  to  his  personality.  In  stature  above  six  feet  and 
well-proportioned,  he  exhibited  in  his  bearing  a  certain  stateli- 
ness,  tinged,  perhaps,  with  self  consciousness.  His  face  was 
clear-cut,  though  at  this  period  weather-beaten,  and  his  fea- 
tures suggested  most  prominently  intellectuality,  determination, 
and  quickness  of  action.  His  manner  was  generally  austere,  but 
on  occasion  agreeable  and  even  jolly.  Both  by  training  and 
temperament  he  was  masterful,  and  at  times  autocratic  and 
arbitrary.14  But  he  was  a  just  man,  and  on  the  whole  managed 
to  get  along  well  with  the  miners  and  to  command  their  respect 
and  a  measure  of  their  affection.15  He  worked  hard,  and  even 
hostile  critics  admitted  that  he  possessed  ''considerable  energy, 
with  some  ability  and  power  of  organization."  Though  these 
critics  constantly  harp  on  the  idea  that  he  was  unfit  for  office 
because  of  having  "lived  beyond  the  pale  of  civilized  life  for 
more  than  thirty  years",  they  concede  that  he  was  "not  in- 
different to  mental  culture,"  and  that  since  becoming  governor 
* '  he  has  read  hard  for  information. '  '16 

One  of  the  best  ways  by  which  to  get  a  just  view  of  the  real 


14  British  Columbia  Proclamations,  pp.  23-27. 

14  In  the  San  Juan  affair,  for  example,  the  conduct  of  Douglas  was  precipitate 
and  arbitrary  ;  most  serious  consequences  were  averted  mainly  through  the  mod- 
eration of  the  officers  of  the  British  fleet.  Governor  Douglas  had  given  Cap- 
tain Hornby  authority  to  prevent  the  landing  of  the  United  States  troops  and 
the  erection  of  military  works.  See  letter  to  Cap.  Hornby,  Correspondence 
Book,  MS.,  2nd  of  Aug.  1859.  Again,  writing  to  Mr.  Chartres  Brew  concern- 
ing the  payment  of  miners'  licenses  the  Governor  wrote,  "The  miners  must 
be  prepared  with  coin  to  pay  their  dues  when  demanded.  The  time  of  the 
officers  cannot  be  taken  up  in  weighing  out  small  portions  of  gold  dust."- 
Miscel.  Letters,  MS.,  Vol.  I,  p.  215. 

16  "The  moral  habit  of  the  man  was  justice",-Letter  of  Mr.  G.  M.  Sproat  to 
Mr.  E.  O.  L.  Scholefield;  "The  boys  all  thought  a  good  deal  of  him", — Remin- 
iscences of  Wm.  Stout,  MS. 

18  Macfie,  Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  pp.  363-95 ;  McDonald,  Br.  Col.  and  Van.  Id., 
p.  272.  A  friendly  observer  wrote  that  "it  seems  astonishing  how  he  gets 
through  his  work ;  but,  as  he  sticks  close,  at  it  early  and  late,  I  suppose  an 
active  life  suits  him." — The  London  Times,  Jan.  19,  1859. 


[329] 


194  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

character  of  Governor  Douglas  is  by  the  perusal  of  the  letters 
in  his  Correspondence  Book,  1859-1864,  which  is  in  the  provin- 
cial archives  at  Victoria.  These  letters  were,  for  the  most  part, 
informal,  many  of  them  being  written  to  friends.  Humor  is 
lacking  in  them,  though  there  is  an  occasional  touch  of  sarcasm. 
But  there  is  in  them  no  trace  of  lamentation,  conceit,  malicious- 
ness, or  unmanliness.  They  show  constant  courtesy,  very  con- 
siderable thoughtfulness  and  kindliness,  rather  wide  per- 
spective, and  some  capacity  for  enthusiasm,  together  with  a  meas- 
ure of  characteristic  pompousness ;  and,  in  general,  they  are  sin- 
cere, vigorous,  wholesome.  While  for  the  composition  of  his- 
letters  he  may  have  at  times  relied  upon  others,  often  he  wrote 
them  himself,  and  he  had  command  of  plain,  direct  English.17 
There  was  no  doubt  of  the  whole-hearted  devotion  of  Governor 
Douglas  to  his  work :  '  *  I  cannot  express, ' '  he  wrote  near  the  close 
of  his  official  career,  "the  interest  I  feel  in  the  welfare  of  these 
colonies,  they  have  for  years  been  the  objects  of  my  tenderest 
care.  Every  step  in  the  process  of  construction  has  been  anx- 
iously studied 'Vs  The  estimate  of  Governor  Douglas's  work 
by  the  Imperial  Government  was  shown  by  his  being  created 
Companion  of  the  Bath  and  later  raised  to  be  Knight  Commander 
of  the  Bath. 

Through  most  of  the  career  of  Sir  James  Douglas  in  the  serv- 
ice of  the  Crown,  however,  he  encountered  much  obloquy  and 
opposition.  This  was,  in  part,  due  to  the  formation  in  Victoria 
of  a  factious  opposition  party,  headed  by  James  Cooper,  Har- 
bour master  of  Victoria,  and  Amor  De  Cosmos,  editor  of  the 
British  Colonist;  in  part,  to  a  real  grievance  of  the  people  of 
British  Columbia.19 


17  For  example   in  a  letter,   apparently  of  his  own  composition,   he  wrote  to 
a   magistrate :   "I   must  enjoin   upon   you   and   all   other   magistrates  in   British 
Columbia  to  permit  no  relaxation  in  the  laws  of  the  land  :   let  their  provisions 
be  rigidly  enforced  and  all  the  powers  of  justice  arrayed  against  offenders  in 
order  that  rogues  and  vagabonds  of  every  degree  especially  thieves  and  gamblers 
may  be  rooted  out  of  the  country". — Letter  to  Mr.   Bevis,  Miscl.  Letters,  MS., 
Vol.  I,  p.  63.     Mr.  G.  M.  Sproat  says  that  he  had  seen  Douglas  revise  the  drafts 
of  some  of  his  letters  five  or  six  times. — Note  from  Judge  F.  W.  Howay. 

18  Letter  to  Mr.  Good,  Correspondence  Book,  Dec.  10,  1863. 

19  De  Cosmos'   own  account  of   his  warfare  against  Douglas  carries  rather  a 
flippant  tone.     He  was  a  native  of   Nova   Scotia  who  had  gone  to  California, 
and   from   fhere    "sick   and   tired    of   the   heat   of   the    interior,"    had    come    to- 

[330] 


TRIMBLE—MIMING  ADVANCE  195 

The  people  of  that  colony  (whose  demands  were  voiced,  in 
particular,  by  New  Westminster)  disliked  to  be  ruled  by  a 
Governor  who  resided  most  of  the  time  at  Victoria  and  whose 
interests,  they  thought,  would  lead  him  to  favor  the  merchants 
of  Victoria  at  the  expense  of  British  Columbia.20  Moreover,  it 
was  asserted  that  a  free  British  people  were  under  an  autocratic 
rule  and  were  refused  representative  institutions — how  differ- 
ent, they  said,  was  the  condition  in  the  American  territories — 
and  that  Governor  Douglas  desired  to  perpetuate  this  state  of 
affairs.  The  Governor  believed  that  representative  government 
was  not  feasible,  until  the  British  element  in  the  colony  would 
become  stronger.21  Moreover  he  was  probably  not  averse  to 
autocratic  rule.  "I,  James  Douglas "  was  prominent  at  the 
heads  of  his  proclamations.  His  powers,  indeed,  were  very 
extensive :  he  issued  a  proclamation  enabling  the  Governor  to 
convey  Crown  lands  and  followed  that  by  an  ordinance  on  the 
same  subject;  the  full  power  of  taxation  was  in  his  hands,  and 
he  raised  large  sums ;  he  incurred  an  indebtedness  of  more  than 
half  a  million  dollars;  and  he  promulgated  a  code  of  laws  for 
the  mining  regions,  and  created  an  effective  administration 
system  for  carrying  it  into  effect.22  While  there  was  danger 
of  abuse  in  such  powers  if  exercised  unworthily,  and  while 
Governor  Douglas  persisted,  perhaps,  somewhat  too  long  in  post- 
poning representative  institutions,  yet  some  sound  arguments 
may  be  adduced  in  defense  of  such  a  system  for  newly-formed 
mining  communities,  as  he  administered.  A  thoughtful  obser- 
ver wrote  as  follows  concerning  conditions  in  the  mining  corn- 


Victoria.  He  had  been  but  few  months  in  Victoria  when  he  prepared  a  peti- 
tion for  the  removal  of  Governor  Douglas  on  the  ground  that  he  was  obnoxious 
to  the  people  and  that  in  him  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  interests  predomi- 
nated ;  and  he  obtained  for  the  petition  one  hundred  seventeen  names.  "That 
agitation",  says  De  Cosmos,  "went  on  from  year  to  year.  It  did  not  have  any 
effect." — De  Cosmos,  Governments  of  British  Columbia.  MS. 

20  See  supra,  p.  113.     Indeed  it  did  seem  strange  for  the  Governor  of  British 
Columbia  to  issue  a  proclamation  for  legalizing  acts  of  His  Honor  Chief  Justice 
Begbie,  while  the  latter  was  in  Victoria  :  British  Columbia  Proclamations,  p.  32. 

21  British    Columbian,   Feb.    28,    1861. 

22  British   Columbia  Proclamations,   pp.   55,   67,   121,   129,   139,   and   142.     One 
extreme  form  of  tax  was  that  of  $5  upon  every  load  of  a  pack  animal  proceed- 
ing to  the  mines  ;  such  an  outcry  was  raised  against  this  tax  both  by  the  miners 
and  by  the  merchants  of  Victoria,  that  it  was  never  put  into  force,  Id.,  p.  73 ; 
San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Apr.  2,  1860. 

[331] 


196  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

munities  south  of  the  Line :  * '  The  people  east  of  the  Cascades  are 
wanting  in  some  of  the  most  essential  elements  and  conditions 
for  a  successful  representative  government.  They  are  mostly 
scattered  about  in  mining  camps  without  families  or  any  of  the 
conservative  influences  of  home,  or  on  the  road  going  to  and  fro 
in  search  of  better  luck.  The  majority  of  them  are  in  no  way 
attached  to  the  soil,  and  may  be  in  Cariboo  or  Australia  a 
year  hence.  Yet  of  all  people,  they  have  most  need  of  a  gov- 
ernment— not  the  complex  and  elegant  machinery  of  a  repre- 
sentative one,  commencing  with  a  primary  meeting  and  ending 
in  a  legislative  enactment  a  year  afterwards,  but  a  simple 
executive  'government  with  ample  power  for  emergencies  and 
a  somewhat  summary  method."23  The  unprejudiced  historian 
may,  perhaps,  wisely  sum  up  the  matter  in  the  words  of  one, 
who,  while  naturally  favoring  Governor  Douglas,  yet  presents 
reasonable  considerations:  ''The  necessity  of  a  representative 
government  has  been  urged  upon  arguments  which,  however 
legitimate  in  themselves,  become  fallacious  under  certain  circum- 
stances. Indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  how,  with  hastily 
accumulated  population,  chiefly  consisting  of  foreigners  of 
many  nationalities,  it  would  have  been  possible  to  organize  a 
system  of  representation  adequate  to  the  end  in  view.  It  may 
further  be  questioned  whether  any  purely  representative  gov- 
ernment, hastily  convened,  could  have  accomplished  so  speedily, 
and  it  has  proved  judiciously,  that  which  has  been  effected 
under  a  system,  which,  if  less  accordant  with  our  constitutional 
ideas,  has  certainly  in  the  present  case;  answered  the  desired 
end."24 

One  fact,  at  any  rate,  stands  out  prominently  in  any  com- 
parison between  the  executive  government  of  British  Columbia 
and  those  formed  on  the  representative  principle  in  the  Ameri- 
can territories :  namely,  that  in  British  Columbia,  crime  was 
promptly  and  justly  dealt  with,  and  that  there  never  was  a  lynch- 
ing nor  a  vigilante  committee,  nor  occasion  for  either ;  while  in  the 
American  Territories  there  was  scarcely  one  important  camp 
which  did  not  have  some  "statistics  of  blood"  and  where  there 


23  Correspondent  of  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,   June  30,  1863. 

24  Anderson,  Alexander  Caulfield,  History  of  the  Northwest  Coast,  MS. 

[332] 


TRIMBLE—MINING  ADVANCE  197 

was  not  some  sort  of  lynching  or  some  form  of  a  vigilante 
committee.25  Not  that  there  were  no  murders  in  British  Colum- 
bia1, for  there  were  such  occasionally,  and  criminals  sometimes 
escaped  across  the  border;  but  generally  on  the  committing  of 
a  crime  a  magistrate  was  soon  on  the  spot,  and  instant  measures 
were  taken  for  bringing  culprits  to  justice  without  delay  and 
without  interference  of  the  people.  It  is  safe  to  say,  I  think, 
that  order  was  as  well  kept  and  law  as  well  administered  in 
British  Columbia  during  the  mining  rushes,  as  in  any  older 
community  having  good  law  and  order.  It  is  fair,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  remember  that  the  United  States  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
trying  war,  and  that  the  best  administrators  of  the  northwest 
had  been  withdrawn  for  service  in  the  war,  but  still  the  differ- 
ence is  so  pronounced  as  to  suggest  that  it  arose  mainly  from 
the  differences  between  the  systems  of  government  in  the  two 
regions.  There  was  no  essential  difference  in  the  characteristics 
of  the  mining  populations ;  Cariboo  in  the  United  States  would 
have  been  an  ideal  field  for  road-agents  and  vigilante  commit- 
ties,  and  Kootenay  was  near  the  border.  But  in  British  Co- 
lumbia there  was  Law,  and  an  Executive,  arid  a  Chief  Justice, 
and  a  Magistracy  that  expected  obedience,  and  the  mining  pop- 
ulation rendered  obedience  willingly. 

Of  all  the  forces  that  in  the  mining  camps  of  British  Columbia 
made  for  law  and  order  none  was  more  potent  than  the  work  of 
His  Honor,  Matthew  Baillie  Begbie,  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  Something  of  the  character  of  the  man  we  catch  in  a 
letter  to  Judge  Begbie  from  Governor  Douglas, — written  near 
the  close  of  the  latter 's  term  of  office, — which  does  honor  to  both 
men:  "I  may  truly  say  that  my  official  intercourse  with  you  has 
been  profitable  and  of  the  most  agreeable  character,  and  when 
differences  of  opinion  have  arisen,  they  never  gave  rise  to  asperity 
of  feeling  or  language,  being  I  am  persuaded  in  every  case  the- 
result  of  honest  conviction  and  of  a  sincere  desire  to  promote 
the  public  good."26  Active,  indefatigable,  decisive,  yet  rea- 


25  One  instance   of  a   lynching  in   British  Columbia  is   narrated  by    Johnson, 
Very  Far  West  Indeed;  but  this  author,  as  before  mentioned  (p.  52,  note),  needs 
corroboration,  and  in  this  instance  the  story  is  without  any  corroboration  what- 
ever. 

26  Correspondence  Book,  Oct.  28,  1863,  MS. 

[333] 


198  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

sonable,  quick  to  seize  on  the  most  telling  mode  of  punishment, 
the  judge  traversed  the  great  highways  and  the  rough  trails, 
holding  his  assizes  in  every  important  town,  now  sentencing  a 
Chinaman  to  imprisonment  for  assaulting  another,  now  caution- 
ing an  Indian  "very  seriously "  and  sentencing  another  to  have 
his  hair  cut  off ,  again  fining  heavily  a  white  man  for  selling  liquor 
to  Indians  or  giving  judgment  in  some  mining  dispute.  Un- 
trammeled  by  those  niceties  of  legal  verbiage  which,  in  the 
United  States,  so  often  become  the  mumbo-jumboes  of  the 
lawyers,  he  dispensed  a  robust  and  honest  justice  which  made 
him  a  terror  to  evildoers  and,  in  the  eyes  of  the  law-abiding, 
a  worthy  representative  of  a  great  governing  race.27 

In  respect  to  fostering  development  of  the  country,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  American  territorial  system  contrasted  favorably 
with  the  English  colonial  system  as  applied  in  British  Columbia. 
The  Imperial  Government  was  willing  to  furnish  protection 
from  outside  powers,  but  insisted  that  the  colony  from  the  start 
should  be  self-supporting  with  respect  to  internal  affairs.  Lyt- 
ton  repeatedly  wrote  to  Douglas  that  the  colony  must  not  look 
to  the  mother-country  for  financial  help ;  such  help  would  ' '  in- 
terfere with  the  healthy  action  by  which  a  new  community 
provides,  step  by  step,  for  its  own  requirements.  It  is  on  the 
character  of  the  inhabitants  that  we  must  rest  our  hopes  for  the 
land  we  redeem  from  the  wilderness. " 28  An  English  author 
of  the  time  commented  on  this  policy  as  follows:  "The  contrast 
between  the  United  States  and  England  in  caring  for  the  growth 
of  new  territories  is  decidedly  unfavorable  to  the  latter,  Eng- 
land in  defining  land  to  be  erected  into  a  colony  and  passing 
an  act  of  parliament  to  that  effect,  leaves  to  the  settlers,  how- 
ever few  and  impotent  they  may  be,  the  task  of  establishing 
leading  communications,  executing  surveys,  and  completing 
postal  arrangements.  If  the  population  be  unequal  to  these 
undertakings,  they  must  be  postponed  till  colonial  finances  be- 
come capable  of  sustaining  them.  The  Federal  Government,  on 


27  Some  of  the  items  of  this  characterization  are  drawn  from  the  old  Police 
Record  Book  from  Hope,  which  His  Honour,  Judge  Frederick  W.  Howay,  of  New 
Westminster,  permitted  me  to  use. 

28  Quoted  by  Macfie,   Van.  Id.  and  Br.  Col.,  p.  509. 

[334] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  199 

the  other  hand,  assumes  the  responsibility  of  giving  effect 
to  all  works  of  magnitude  necessary  to  bring  an  infant  settle- 
ment to  maturity,  and  indemnifies  itself  for  the  outlay  incurred, 
by  mortgaging  the  lands  and  the  revenues  derivable  from  the 
customs  and  other  territorial  sources."  "It  invariably  turns 
out  that  works  urgent  and  useful,  thus  undertaken,  are  speedily 
made  to  defray  the  cost  of  construction.  The  Americans  have 
learned  that  whatever  contributes  to  augment  national  wealth 
by  developing  the  resources  of  new  territory  is  not  inconsistent 
with  public  economy."29  "The  English,"  wrote  General 
Harney  on  a  visit  to  Victoria  in  1859,  "cannot  colonize  success- 
fully so  near  our  people;  they  are  too  exacting."30  The  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  annexation  to  the  United  States,  which  was  at 
times  quite  apparent  in  British  Columbia  during  the  colonial 
period,  was  in  part  due,  probably,  to  the  conviction  that  the 
colony  would  be  more  prosperous  as  a  territory.  Such  a  colony 
as  British  Columbia,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  had  very  different 
relations  with  the  mother  country,  as  compared  with  those  exist- 
ing between  an  American  territory  and  the  Federal  Government : 
the  territory  was  directly  dependent  upon  the  central  govern- 
ment, and  differentiation  between  the  activities  and  functions 
of  that  government  and  those  local  to  the  territory  is  difficult 
to  trace  clearly;  but  the  government  of  the  British  Colony  had 
powers  and,  correspondingly,  responsibilities  in  internal  affairs 
nearly  those  of  a  nation  (as,  for  example,  the  collection  of  cus- 
toms and  the  establishment  of  a  postal  system  )  and  the  opera- 
tions of  the  central  power  and  those  of  the  colonial  administra- 
tion are  easily  distinguishable. 

The  instrument  which  the  Imperial  Government  had  ever  at 
hand  for  the  protection  of  the  infant  colony  was  the  fleet,  but 
the  fleet,  in  reality,  afforded  something  more  than  protection 
against  outside  powers.  One  of  Her  Majesty's  vessels,  as  we 
have  before  mentioned,  was  stationed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Fraser 
to  enforce  the  collection  of  licenses  from  the  miners.  The 
marines  were  available  for  the  prompt  aid  in  case  of  any  seri- 
ous outbreak, — how  effective  that  aid  might  be  was  apparent  in 


29Macfie,  Van.  Id.   and  Br.  Col.,  pp.  511-12. 

30  Thirty-sixth  Cong.,  2  sess.,  Sen.  Doc.,  2  No.  2,  p.  109. 

[335] 


200  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

the  case  of  the  so-called  McGowan  riot  at  Hill's  Bar.  Moreover, 
besides  support  to  the  civil  authority,  other  advantages  were 
derived  from  the  presence  of  vessels  of  the  fleet,  though  these 
applied  most  directly  to  Victoria.  In  the  first  place,  there  was 
the  expenditure  of  money  in  the  colony.  Again,  "the  security 
given  by  the  presence  or  proximity  of  a  strong  naval  force 
inspires  confidence  in  legislation,  in  Government,  in  all  the 
varied  interests  of  life,  in  short ;  while  to  the  success  of  commerce 
this  security  is  peculiarly  essential."  Then,  too,  "the  good 
effects  on  social  life  of  friendly  intercourse  with  so  many  edu- 
cated men,  possessing  the  manners  and  habits  of  gentlemen, 
as  compose  the  body  of  officers  in  a  squadron,  need  only  to  be 
mentioned  to  be  understood. ' ' 31 

In  the  process  of  shaping  forms  of  government  both  north 
and  south  of  the  Line  there  was,  in  one  respect,  an  interesting,^ 
and  important  similarity.  Just  as  Iowa  copied  her  forms  of ^ 
law  and  administration  in  part  from  New  York,  and  Idaho 
and  Montana  imitated  California  and  Nevada,  so  British  Co- 
lumbia derived  perhaps  the  most  important  portion  of  her  law 
and  administrative  system — that  having  to  do  with  mines — 
from  Australia  and  New  Zealand.  Both  the  colony  and  the- 
territories,  moreover,  showed  some  preference  for  the  latest 
models;  in  the  case  of  the  territories,  for  that  of  Nevada,  in 
that  of  British  Columbia  for  New  Zealand.  The  derivation 
of  the  British  Columbia  code  is  clearly  revealed  in  a  letter  of 
Governor  Douglas,  August  sixth,  1860,  to  Sir  Henry  Barkly, 
K.  C.,  Governor  of  the  Colony  of  Victoria,  which  reads  as 
follows:  "I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
Excellency's  Despatch  of  the  4th  of  May,  1859,  date  Melbourne, 
Victoria,  No.  9,  together  with  ample  stores  of  information 
which  you  have  been  kind  enough  to  enclose. 

"It  was  found  imperatively  necessary  to  proceed  to  legisla- 
tion here,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  Accordingly,  there- 
fore, before  the  arrival  of  the  full  and  minute  pjarticulars 
which  your  Excellency  has  so  kindly  procured  and  arranged, 
a  code  of  Laws  was  published  on  the  31st  of  August  last,  and 


The  London  Times,  Aug.  14,  1863. 

[336] 


TRIMBLE — MINING  ADVANCE  201 

the  7th  of  September  last,  a  few  further  rules  and  regulations 
being  added  on  the  6th  of  January  last.  I  have  the  honor  to  en- 
close copies. 

"It  will  be  apparent  to  your  Excellency  that  these  have  been 
framed  on  the  experience  of  the  Australian  Colonies,  and  prin- 
cipally on  that  of  Victoria,  Th*e  precedent  chiefly  followed  was 
the  New  Zealand  Code,  tvhich  in  fact  had,  equally  with  this 
Colony,  the  benefit  of  the  previous  legislation  in  Victoria  and 
New  South  Wales.32  And  in  addition  to  the  New  Zealand  Code, 
of  which  a  copy  had  been  procured,  portions  of  the  Codes  in 
Victoria  and  New  South  Wales  were  also  consulted,  although 
only  portions  and  those  not  of  the  latest  dates  were  procur- 
able."33 

Another  portion  of  this  illuminating  letter  reveals  a  pride  in 
law  and  order  on  the  part  of  the  English  administrators  scarcely 
characteristic  of  American  territorial  governors.  It  is  as  follows : 
"I  most  sincerely  congratulate  your  Excellency  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  the  Criminal  Calendars  in  Victoria  to  which  you  refer. 
It  is  with  heart-felt  satisfaction  that  I  can  for  my  part  refer 
to  those  in  British  Columbia,  where  the  only  two  serious  of- 
fences committed  by  white  men  since  the  proclamation  of  the 
Colony  (19th  Nov.,  1858)  have  been  one  burglary  in  which  the 
criminals  were  seized  and  delivered  up  to  the  regular  authorities 
by  the  inhabitants ;  and  one  murder  committed  at  Lytton  about  a 
month  ago,  in  which  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  criminal 
immediately  escaped  beyond  the  frontier.  The  only  other  cases 
have  been  a  few  petty  thefts. 

"There  are  seven  Justices  of  the  Peace  and  about  fifteen  con- 
stables in  the  entire  Colony,  scattered  over  a  difficult  country, 
about  five  hundred  miles  in  length. 

"I  venture  to  think  that  such  a  state  of  circumstances  speaks 
volumes  for  the  readiness  with  which  a  politically  disaffected 
population  acknowledges  the  general  good  tendency  of  the  Eng- 
lish Law;  and  I  submit  that  the  very  heterogeneous  and  roving1 
population  of  British  Columbia  may  claim  to  be  at  least  on  a  par 
with  that  of  the  Victoria  Gold  Fields."34 


32  Italics  not  in  MS. 

33  Correspondence  Book,  MS.,  pp.    44-47. 

34  Id. 


[337] 


202  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

The  most  important  administrative  feature  of  the  system  de- 
rived as  above  was  the  constitution  of  gold  commissioners  for 
the  mining  regions.  There  were  no  officials  such  as  these  in  the 
United  States,  although  the  need  f<?r  them  was  recognized,  par- 
ticularly for  the  purpose  of  gathering  reliable  data.35  The  gen- 
eral outline  of  the  system,  as  at  first  conceived,  included  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  gold  commissioner  who  was  to  have  entire  super- 
vision over  all  the  gold  fields,  including  the  direction  of  assist- 
ant gold  commissioners  in  the  various  districts;  but  this  central 
office  seems  early  to  have  lapsed.36  The  subordinates  in  the  field 
reported  directly  to  the  governor  or  to  the  colonial  secretary,  and 
they  were  styled  gold  commissioners.  These  commissioners  were 
appointed  to  office  and  assigned  to  their  districts  by  the  governor. 
The  system,  as  finally  worked  out,  included  the  division  of  the 
mining  regions  into  a  few  large  districts  and  the  assignment  to 
each  district  of  a  gold  commissioner,  who  was  closely  dependent 
upon  and  responsible  to  the  central  authority. 

The  powers  of  a  gold  commissioner  within  his  district  were 
great.  Save  for  right  of  appeal  to  the  supreme  court  in  certain 
cases,  subordination  to  the  governor,  and  in  districts  where  min- 
ing boards  were  constituted  some  limitation  of  activities,  his 
authority  was  absolute.37  In  cases  and  suits  "the  gold  com- 
missioner alone,  without  a  jury,  shall  be  the  sole  judge  of  law 
and  fact;"  and  he  had  power  to  compel  attendance  of  witnesses 
and  production  of  documents.38  In  contrast  to  legal  procedure 
in  the  American  territories,  "it  shall  not  be  necessary  for  the 


33  It  was  felt  in  the  United  States,  however,  that  the  system  was  not  exactly 
''adapted  to  our  mineral  regions,  or  to  the  habits  and  customs  of  our  people". 
Still,  "A  permanent  system  like  this,  established  upon  a  somewhat  different 
basis,  is  greatly  needed  in  our  country." — J.  Ross  Brown,  Mineral  Resources  of 
the  United  States,  1867,  p.  8.  But  no  such  system  was  put  into  operation  in 
the  United  States. 

36  Mr.  Chartres  Brew  was  appointed  first  general  Gold  Commissioner  of  British 
Columbia.     His    powers    were    defined    in    a   communication    which   is    found   in 
Miscl.  Letters,  1,  72-74,  MS.     Mr.  Brew  was  consulted  in  working  out  the   be- 
ginnings of  this  mining  law  of  British  Columbia.     Letters  of  Douglas  to  Brew,  Id. 
1,  pp.  102-105,  and  123. 

37  The  fame  of  the  absolute  powers  and  summary  methods  of  the  Gold  Com- 
missioners of  British  Columbia  was  well  spread  in  the  mining  camps  south  of 
the  Line,  and  "hard  cases"  avoided  going  there.     In  the  eyes  of  Amercan  miners 
the  Gold  Commissioners  had  the  powers  of  a  Czar.     Remarks  of  Judge  W.  Y. 
Pemberton  of  Helena. 

38  The  Gold  Fields  Act  of  1859,  clause  22  and  23. 

[338] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  203 

gold  commissioner  in  any  proceedings  before  him  to  follow  any 
set  forms,  provided  that  the  substance  of  the  things  done  and  to 
be  done  be  therein  expressed ;  nor  shall  any  proceedings  before 
any  gold  commissioner  be  liable  to  be  set  aside  for  any  want  of 
form,  so  long  as  matters  of  substance  have  not  been  omitted.  "39 
On  appeal  to  the  supreme  court,  "no  objection  shall  be  allowed 
to  the  conviction  on  any  matter  of  form  or  insufficiency  of  state- 
ment, provided  it  shall  appear  to  the  said  supreme  court  that 
the  defendant  has  been  sufficiently  informed  of  the  charge  to  be 
made  against  him,  and  that  the  conviction  was  proper  on  the 
merits  of  the  case."40  On  complaint  of  wrongful  encroachment 
("jumping  a  claim")  the  gold  commissioner  was  to  "proceed 
forthwith"  to  the  place  of  alleged  encroachment,  "and  there- 
after, on  view  of  the  premises  and  on  such  evidence  as  to  such 
gold  commissioner  shall  seem  sufficient,"  shall  "hear  and  deter- 
mine the  dispute  in  a  summary  way, ' '  *  *  *  and  whether  all 
parties  in  difference  shall  appear  or  not,  and  in  a  summary  way 
cause  such  encroachment  to  be  abated,  and  to  restore  to  the  per- 
son who  shall  be  entitled  thereto  full  possession  of  the  claim, 
ditch  or  other  matter  encroached  upon."41  In  the  gold  com- 
missioner of  British  Columbia,  in  fact,  were  centered  the  powers 
of  the  American  mining  camp  and  of  a  British  magistrate.  He 
recorded  all  claims,  assessed  all  damages,  and  marked  out  plots 
for  gardening  purposes ;  he  constituted  mining  boards  and  might 
fill  vacancies;  he  had  jurisdiction  over  all  disputes  as  to  titles, 
boundaries  and  contracts,  whether  relating  to  mines,  bed  rock 
flumes,  or  mining  drains ;  he  had  power  to  try  persons  for  breach 
of  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Governor 's  Proclamation ;  and 
he  had  all  the  authority  and  jurisdiction  of  a  justice  of  the 
peace.42 

The  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  gold  commissioner  were 
even  more  multifarious  than  his  powers  would  indicate.  The 
"pressing  calls  of  the  public  service,"  in  the  "early  condition 


39  Id.,  24. 

40  Id.,  29. 

41  Id.,  XXVI. 


42  A  summary  of  the  powers  of  the  Gold  Commissioner  in  British  Columbia  may 
be  found  in  Park,  Joseph,  A  Practical  View  of  the  Mining  Laws  of  British  Colum- 

3h;/r       r\r\        Af\     KA 


pp.    46-50. 

[339] 


204  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  WISCONSIN 

of  the  colony,  before  institutions  are  formed  and  Departments 
fully  organized,"  ' i necessitated  that  each  officer  be  a  " General 
Government  Agent"  ready  to  ''afford  his  assistance  in  every 
way  possible. '  '43  The  gold  commissioner  might  be  required  to  see 
to  the  mail,  try  a  man  for  allowing  a  pig  to  trespass,  take  charge 
of  a  dead  man's  effects,  see  that  a  sick  man  was  taken  care  of, 
recover  a  stolen  horse,  fine  a  drunken  Chinaman,  and  contract 
for  large  expenditures  on  the  roads.  Very  careful  and  detailed 
reports  were  to  be  made  monthly.  His  Excellency  wanted  to 
know  of  Mr.  O'Reilly  when  the  latter  was  stationed  at  Ft.  Hope 
the  number  of  miners  at  work  on  each  bar,  their  average  earn- 
ings, the  discovery  of  any  new  mining  ground,  the  state  of  trade, 
the  price  of  provisions,  the  arrival  or  exodus  of  miners,  and 
general  information.44  All  items  of  expenditure  were  reported 
down  to  the  smallest  details  and,  also,  all  receipts.  Elaborate 
printed  forms  for  reports  were  furnished  to  the  gold  commis- 
sioners, and  they  were  expected  to  use  official  stationery  even 
when  stationed  in  remote  Cariboo.  The  communications  of  the 
officials,  other  than  tabulations,  were  expressed  in  clear,  good 
English,  with  a  noteworthy  lack  of  slang,  but  with  some  lapses 
in  punctuation.  As  before  remarked,  these  reports  of  the  gold 
commissioners  constitute  one  of  the  most  valuable  sources  for  the 
mining  history  of  British  Columbia. 

While  the  gold  commissioners  were  central  factors  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  mining  communities  of  British  Columbia,  yet 
there  were  the  beginnings  of  local  popular  government  in  the 
constitution  of  mining  boards.  Upon  the  petition  o£  one  hun- 
dred and  one  registered  free  miners  in  any  district,  and  due  au- 
thentication by  the  gold  commissioner  of  the  district,  the  governor 
might  direct  the  commissioner  to  constitute  a  local  board.  The 
board  consisted  of  six  to  twelve  members  (according  to  popula- 
tion), and  the  members  were  elected  by  the  votes  of  the  regis- 
tered free  miners  of  three  months'  standing.  It  is  interesting 


« Letters  of  Douglas  to  Hicks,  Sanders,  and  O'Reilly,  Miscl.  Letters,  MS.  I, 
pp.  7,  160,  185.  The  concentration  of  offices  in  one  person  was  carried  much 
farther  than  in  the  States.  Thus  Mr.  O'Reilly  besides  being  Gold  Commissioner 
was  High  Sheriff  of  British  Columbia.  Mr.  Chartres  Brew  was  Chief  Inspector 
of  Police. 

"Letter  to  P.  O'Reilly,  Apr.  7,  1860,  MS. 

[340] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  205 

to  notice  that  voting  was  not  limited  to  nationals.  The  mining 
board  had  power  to  make  by-laws  and  to  alter  and  repeal  exist- 
ing by-laws  ' '  regulating  size  of  claims  and  sluices,  mode  in  which 
claims  may  be  registered,  worked,  held  and  forfeited,  and  all 
other  matters  in  the  district.  Provided  that  none  shall  have 
force  unless  and  until  approved  by  the  Governor."**  Acts  of 
the  mining  boards  were  to  be  valid,  "  notwithstanding  any  in- 
formality or  irregularity  in  the  mode  of  election,  or  of  the  meet- 
ing of  such  mining  board,  or  in  the  passing  of  any  such  acts/' 
It  was  a  characteristic  principle  of  the  administrative  system 
of  British  Columbia,  that  regulations  were  so  shaped  as  to  incite 
miners  to  obey  the  statutes  and  the  laws.  This  attitude  of  ex- 
pectancy, if  I  may  so  phrase  it — an  attitude  lacking  in  the 
States — is  illustrated  in  the  requirement  that,  if  any  member  of 
a  mining  board  should  cease  to  be  a  free  registered  miner  in  the 
district,  "or  shall  be  convicted  of  any  misdemeanor  or  felony, 
or  of  any  assault,  being  armed  with  a  lethal  weapon  or  of  any 
willful  and  malicious  contravention  of  this  act,  or  of  any  bylaw 
in  force  in  his  district,  he  shall  ipso  facto  vacate  his  seat  in  each 
case."46 

Another  feature  of  the  administrative  machinery  of  British 
Columbia,  unknown  in  the  American  territories,  was  the  gold 
escort.  The  escort  was  designed  to  facilitate  the  carriage  of 
gold  from  the  mining  regions,  and  to  secure  safety,  while  at  the 
same  time  it  was  thought  the  display  of  a  disciplined  and  unin- 
formed force  would  have  a  salutary  effect.  The  escort  was  given 
a  semi-military  organization,  and  consisted  of  a  superintendent, 
first  and  second  officers,  and  a  dozen  or  more  men.47  Its  estab- 
lishment seems  to  have  been  urged  more  by  merchants  of  Vic- 
toria and  of  Hope  and  Yale  than  by  the  miners.  It  was  or- 


45  Italics  are  mine.  Moreover,  the  Gold  Commissioner  had  a  veto  power  upon 
the  resolutions  of  a  Mining  Board,  but  this  might  be  overcome  by  a  vote  of  two 
thirds  of  the  members. 

48  Gold  Fields  Act  of  1859,  clauses  XXIX  to  XXXVIII.  I  have  treated  of  the 
Mining  Boards  as  outlined  in  this  act,  though  there  were  some  slight  modifica- 
tions by  Governor  Douglas  in  the  Gold  Fields  Act  of  1864.  I  have  not  sought 
to  trace  their  later  development. 

47  General  Rules  and  Regulations  for  the  Guidance  of  the  Officer  in  Command 
of  the  Gold  Escort,  June  4,  1S63,  MS  ;  also  Journal  of  Daily  Proceedings  of  the 
Gold  Escort  first  trip,  1863. 


[341] 


206  .BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

ganized  several  summers,  but  it  was  not  very  successful  because 
the  government  did  not  guarantee  safe  delivery,  merchants  and 
packers  had  their  own  facilities,  and  claim  owners  could  hire 
guards.48  The  escort  appears  to  have  been  inferior  in  efficiency 
to  the  private  express  companies  which  operated  everywhere 
through  the  mining  regions  south  of  the  Line.49 

Passing,  now,  from  the  mechanism  of  administration  as  re- 
vealed in  gold  commissioners,  mining  boards  and  the  gold 
escort  to  the  content  of  mining  law,  we  find  one  class  of  persons, 
and  only  one,  which  was  legally  recognized  as  having  the  right 
to  mine  under  the  British  Columbia  code.  These  were  the  free 
miners.  A  free  miner  was  a  "person  named  in  and  lawfully 
possessed  of  an  existing  valid  free  miners'  certificate."  A  free 
miner 's  certificate  was  in  the  following  form : 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA. 
Free  Miner's  Certificate. 

Date  No. 

Not  transferable. 

Valid  for  one  year. 

This  is  to  certify  that  A.  B.  of has  paid  me  this 

day  the  sum  of  one  pound  sterling,  and  is  entitled  to  all  the 

rights  and  privileges  of  a  free  miner  for  one  year  from  the  date 

hereof. 

(Countersigned  A.  B.)  (Signed)  G.  B. 

Signature  of  free  miner. 

Chief  Gold  Commissioner,  or 
assistant  Gold  Commissioner 
or  Justice  of  the  Peace,  as 
the  case  may  be. 

Every  free  miner  during  the  term  of  his  certificate  had  the  right 
to  "enter  on  and  mine  the  waste  lands  of  the  Crown,  not  law- 
fully occupied  by  any  other  person."  He  might  then  become  a 


48  Report  of  P.  O'Reilly,  July  1863,  MS. 

49  To  a  less  degree,  also,  in  British  Columbia. 

[342]    \ 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  207 

registered  free  miner,  "entitled  in  his  own  right  to  any  claim, 
lease  of  auriferous  earth,  ditch  or  water  privilege. ":  He  now, 
moreover,  acquired  other  rights ;  he  might  vote  for  members  of 
the  mining  board  or  become  a  member  of  that  board;  and,  in 
case  of  his  death,  his  claim  could  not  be  occupied  by  another 
for  non-representation,  but  it  might  be  kept  afoot  by  the  gold 
commissioner  or  sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  heirs.  But  miners 
not  possessing  valid  certificates  had  no  rights,  as  miners,  what- 
ever. If  the  claim  of  such  an  one  were  "jumped"  by  one  pos- 
sessing a  certificate,  the  gold  commissioner  would  recognize  the 
title  of  the  intruder ;  in  case  of  dispute  the  uncertificated  miner 
had  no  standing  in  court ;  he  could  hope  for  no  lease  of  mining 
ground,  nor  could  he  become  a  member  of  a  mining  co-partner- 
ship or  of  a  bed-rock  flume  company;  and  he  was  not  entitled 
to  receive  water  from  a  ditch  (and  water  was  indispensable  for 
mining  operations).  Lists  of  all  free  miners  in  a  district  were 
kept  by  the  gold  commissioners,  and  revised  quarterly;  also,  the 
names  of  those  legally  entitled  to  work  claims  were  to  be  con- 
spicuously posted  by  the  gold  commissioner  on  each  claim.51  By 
this  system  of  licenses  very  effective  control  over  the  miners  was 
secured  by  the  Government. 

We  shall  not  attempt  a  study  in  detail  of  the  ordinances  in 
accordance  with  which  the  free  miners  of  British  Columbia 
worked,  but  certain  of  these  laws  are  of  special' interest  in  illus- 
trating the  regulated  relations  of  the  individual  miner  to  the 
society  of  which  he  was  a  part. 

It  was  lawful  for  any  gold  commissioner  to  mark  out  for  the 
use  of  any  free  registered  miner  in  his  district  land  not  exceed- 
ing five  acres,  for  a  garden  plot  or  residence.  Such  plots  (but 
not  for  more  than  one  acre)  might  also  be  marked  out  for  any 


BO  "The  amount  of  interest  which  a  free  miner  has  in  a  claim,  save  as  against 
Her  Majesty,  shall  be  deemed  a  chattel  interest  equivalent  to  a  lease  for  a  year, 
renewable  at  the  end  of  the  first  and  every  subsequent  year,  subject  to  the  con- 
ditions as  to  forfeiture,  working,  representation,  registration  and  otherwise  for 
the  time  being  in  force  with  respect  to  such  claim  or  interest  under  any  law  or 
rule  regulating  the  same,  Provided  :  that  every  forfeiture  under  any  such  law 
or  rule  shall  be  absolute,  any  rule  of  law  or  equity  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing." Gold  Fields'  Act,  186^,  clause  45. 

51  The  above  paragraph  is  based  on  the  Gold  Field's  Acts  of  1859  and  of  1864, 
and  on  the  Rules  and  Regulations  for  the  Working  of  Gold  Mines,  Issued  in. 
Conformity  with  the  Gold  Fields'  Act,  1859. 

[343] 


208  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

one  intending  to  carry  on  temporary  trade.  But  rights  to  such 
plots  were  valid  only  for  so  long  as  the  miner  was  a  ''registered 
free  miner  of  the  district",  and  for  so  long  as  the  trader 'had  all 
license  dues  paid  up.  The  British  Columbia  government  gave 
no  countenance  to  "squatting";  land  occupation  of  all  sorts 
was  to  be  under  some  legal  sanction.  Moreover,  the  interests  of 
the  community  were  to  be  guarded :  in  staking  out  plots  of  land 
for  gardening  and  residential  purposes  the  gold  commissioner 
' '  is  to  keep  in  view  the  general  interests  of  all  the  miners  in  that 
locality,  the  general  principle  being  that  every  garden  benefits 
indirectly  that  whole  locality,  and  also  that  the  earlier  applica- 
tion is  to  be  preferred ;  but  where  the  eligible  plots  of  land  are 
few,  or  of  scanty  dimensions,  and  especially  where  they  are 
themselves  auriferous,  it  may  be  injudicious  that  the  whole  or 
the  greater  part  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  one  or  two  per- 
sons. '  ^2 

The  very  important  matter  of  ditch  or  water  privileges  was 
carefully  regulated.  Any  person  desiring  exclusive  privileges 
of  this  nature  was  required  to  make  application  to  the  gold  com- 
missioner, and  to  state  full  details,  including  the  amount  of 
water  to  be  used  and,  if  the  water  was  to  be  sold,  the  price 
proposed.  Kent  was  to  be  paid  at  the  rate  of  one  day's  receipts 
per  month.  Effort  was  made  to  guard  against  waste  and  mo- 
nopoly; "If  any  person  shall  refuse  or  neglect,"  said  the  stat- 
ute, "to  take  within  the  time  mentioned  in  the  application,  or 
within  an  extension  of  time  at  the  discretion  of  the  Gold  Com- 
missioner the  whole  of  the  water  applied  for,  he  shall  be  entitled 
only  to  the  quantity  actually  taken  by  him. ' '  Moreover,  ' '  every 
owner  of  a  ditch  or  water  privilege  shall  be  bound  to  take  all 
reasonable  means  for  utilizing  the  water  granted  to  and  taken 
by  him,  and  if  any  owner  shall  wilfully  take  and  waste  any  un- 
reasonable quantity  of  water,  he  shall  be  charged  with  the  full 
rent,  as  if  he  had  sold  the  same  at  a  full  price.  And  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  the  Gold  Commissioner,  if  such  offense  be  persisted  in, 
to  declare  all  rights  to  the  water  forfeited."  Finally,  "the 
owner  of  any  ditch  or  water  privilege  shall  be  bound  to  supply 


52  Gold  Fields'  Act,  1859,  clauses  XXVII  and  XXVIII;  Rules  and  Regulations 
in  Conformity  with  Gold  Fields'  Act  1859,  clause  XVII. 

[344] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  209 

water  to  all  applicants,  being  free  miners,  in  a  fair  proportion, 
and  shall  not  demand  more  from  one  person  than  from  an- 
other/'53 

There  were  provisions,  likewise,  against  obstructions  and  dan- 
gerous works.  In  no  case  were  ' '  deads  or  leavings,  f orkings  from 
sluices,  waste  dirt,  large  stones  or  tailings  to  be  allowed  to  accu- 
mulate so  as  to  obstruct  the  natural  course ' '  of  a  stream,  and  free 
miners  were  not  to  obstruct  a  bed-rock  flume  by  rocks  or  boulders 
*'or  otherwise  unnecessarily."  Danger  to  the  public  was  to  be 
guarded  against;  upon  complaint,  gold  commissioners  were  em- 
powered "to  order  all  mining  works  to  be  carried  out  in  such 
manner  as  he  shall  think  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  public, 
or  the  protection  of  their  rights,  or  of  the  interest  of  adjoining 
or  affected  claims,  and  to  cause  abandoned  works  to  be  filled  or 
guarded. ' '  Any  one  who  has  traversed  some  of  the  gulches  south 
of  the  Line  which  were  worked  by  old-time  miners,  and  has  seen 
unguarded  shafts  yawning  twenty  or  thirty  feet  deep  within  a 
few  yards  of  a  public  highway,  will  realize  the  advisability  of 
the  latter  requirement. 

Public  interests  were  guarded,  also,  in  the  granting  of  leases. 
Leases  were  to  be  granted  for  a  term  of  not  more  than  ten  years 
and  they  were  applicable  to  not  more  than  ten  acres  of  alluvial 
soil,  one-half  mile  of  unworked  quartz,  or  one  and  one-half  miles 
of  unworked  quartz,  "that  shall  have  been  attempted  and  aban- 
doned by  individual  claim  owners."  Individual  free  miners 
were  to  have  the  first  chance;  leases,  in  general  were  not  to  be 
granted  of  "any  land,  alluvium  or  quartz,  which  shall  be  con- 
sidered to  be  immediately  available  for  being  worked  by  free 
miners  or  holders  of  individual  claims,"  and  in  no  case  were 
individual  free  miners  in  actual  occupation  to  be  disturbed. 
Every  such  lease  was  to  contain  "all  reasonable  provisions  for 
securing  to  the  public  rights  of  way  and  water,  save  insofar  as 
shall  be  necessary  for  the  miner-like  working  of  the  premises 
thereby  devised,  and  also  for  preventing  damage  to  persons  or 
property  of  others  than  lessee."  Conservation  of  the  mineral 
resources  was  to  be  a  principle  of  leases,  and,  "every  such  lease 
shall  contain  a  covenant  by  the  lessee  to  mine  the  said  premises 

63  Gold  Fields'  Act,  1859,  clauses  XXVII  and  XXVIII ;  Rules  and  Regulations 
in  Conformity  icith  Gold  Fields'  Act,  1859,  clause  XVII. 

[345] 


210  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

in  a  miner-like  way."    In  case  of  refusal  or  neglect  to  perform 
any  and  all  covenants,  the  lease  was  to  be  voided. 

In  summing  up  the  tendency  of  the  above-stated  provisions, 
of  the  British  Columbia  code,  it  may  be  seen  that,  while  the; 
priority  of  the  rights  of  the  individual  miners  was  recognized 
and  guarded,  yet  there  was  a  plain  tendency  to  restrain  indi- 
vidualism in  the  interests  of  the  public  good. 

There  remains  one  further  inquiry  in  regard  to  this,  on  the 
whole,  admirably  conceived  system  of  government  in  British 
Columbia — that  is,  as  to  its  cost. 

To  American  observers  of  the  time,  who  had  in  mind  salaries 
paid  officials  in  the  United  States,  the  cost  seemed  excessive. 
The  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  Mr.  Kichardson, 
noted  that  while  populous  New  York  paid  her  governor  $4,000r 
scantily  populated  British  Columbia  paid  hers  $15,000.54  An- ; 
other  American  wrote  that  notwithstanding  the  comparative 
scantiness  and  poverty  of  the  population,  "both  at  Victoria  and 
New  Westminster  there  was  set  up  the  cumbersome  and  expen- 
sive system  of  English  colonial  governments.  The  governors 
were  almost  more  numerous  than  the  governed,  and  the  latter 
made  bitter  complaint  of  the  severe  taxes  that  were  levied  upon 
them  for  the  benefit  of  the  former.  The  year  we  were  there 
(1869)  nearly  half  a  million  dollars  had  been  squeezed  out  of 
the  people  of  little  Victoria  alone  by  a  system  of  taxation  much 
more  burdensome  than  our  civil  war  had  thrown  upon  the  Amer- 
ican people  and  including  a  tax  on  all  sales,  special  licenses  for 
every  kind  of  business,  and  an  income  tax  at  the  end.  The  taxa- 
tion in  one  province  averaged  $100  a  year  to  each  inhabitant, 
and  in  the  other  $70.  Since  1865,  the  two  provinces  have  been 
consolidated,  and  one  set  of  Government  machinery  saved ;  but 
the  governor  of  these  ten  or  twelve  thousand  people  still  has  a 
salary  equal  to  that  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
his  subordinates  are  paid  in  proportion. '  '55  These  observations, 
however,  were  made  in  the  years  of  decadence  following  the  most 
prosperous  era,  and  besides,  in  any  comparisons  between  the 
British  Colonies  and  American  states  or  territories  some  discrim- 


64  Richardson,  Beyond  the  Mississippi,  p.  417. 

65  Bowles,   Our  New  West,  pp.  466-68. 

[346] 


TRIMBLE— MIXING  ADVANCE  211 

inations  need  to  be  made.  In  order  to  arrive  at  somewhat  more 
precise  ideas,  let  us  make  some  comparison  between  the  revenues 
and  expenditures  of  British  Columbia  in  the  period  prior  to 
Union  and  some  of  the  adjoining  territorial  divisions  of  the 
United  States. 

First,  as  to  revenue.  In  1859  the  total  revenue  of  British 
Columbia  was  £47,600  ($230,860),  of  which  sum  £17rOOO 
($82,450)  was  derived  from  the  customs,  £18,841  ($91,378.85) 
from  land  sales,  and  £11,759  ($57,151.15)  from  licenses  and 
miscellaneous  sources.56  In  1863  the  revenue  exclusive  of  that 
derived  from  bonds  and  loans,  amounted  to  £110,000  ($533,500) 
and  in  1864  to  £104,000  ($504,400). 57  That  of  the  latter  year 
was  derived  from  customs  £73,000  ($354,050),  land  sales  £3,973 
($19,269.05),  free  miners  certificates  £3.540  ($17,169)  general 
mining  receipts  £6,000  ($29,100),  and  the  rest  from  miscel- 
laneous sources.58  The  various  sources  of  revenue  in  the  min- 
ing districts  themselves  included  miners'  certificates,  fees  for 
recording  mining  claims,  bills  of  sale,  water  rights  and  land 
claims,  liquor  and  trading  licenses,  sale  of  lands,  duty  on  wood, 
and  Crown  rents.59  In  comparison  with  the  amount  of  rev- 
enue raised  in  British  Columbia,  that  received  in  nearby  Amer- 
ican states  and  territories  was  small.  The  revenues  of  the 
State  of  Oregon  in  two  years  Sept.  1862  to  Sept.  1864,  pro- 
duced $164,999.60  In  Washington  Territory  the  total  receipts 
in  1860  were  $1,715,  in  1861  $2,226,  in  1862,  $2,500,  and  in 
1863,  $4,777,  and  the  total  actual  cash  received  into  treasury 
from  the  organization  of  the  Territory  in  1853  to  1863  was 
$16,459.61  The  Territory  of  Idaho  makes  a  somewhat  better 


M  McDonald,  Br.   Col.   and  Van.  Id.,  p.   37-8. 

67  Government  Gazette,  Jan.  23,  1864  and  Aug.  26,  1865.     For  1860  the  reve- 
nue was  £53,286  ($258,427.10)—  Hazlitt,  Cariboo,  p.  110.     I  have  not  been  able 
to  secure  statements  for  1861  and  1862,  but  those  cited  seem  sufficient  for  pur- 
poses of  comparison  with  American  conditions. 

68  The  item  of  £3,540  for  free  miners'  certificates  would  indicate  that  either 
there  were  no  more  than  708  miners  in  British  Columbia  in  1864,  or  that  the 
law  in  regard  to  licenses  was  not  fully  enforced. 

59 Abstract  of  the  Hope  Collectorate  for  i860,  MS;  Report  of  John  C.  Hayne 
from  Kootenay  for  the  month  of  November,  1864,  MS. 

60  Proceedings  of  the  House  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  Report  of  the  Treas- 
urer, Ap.  p.  85. 

61  House  Journal,    Treasurer's   Reports,   1860,    1861,    1862,    and   1863;    State- 
ment of  Joint  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  1863,  p.  260. 

[347] 


212  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF   WISCONSIN 

showing:  the  total  receipts  from  the  organization  of  the  Ter- 
ritory in  1863  to  Dec.  4,  1865  amounted  to  $20,999,  and  for 
1866  (including  delinquencies)  to  $33,511.62  Delinquencies 
gave  constant  trouble  and  amounted  at  times  to  large  propor- 
tions of  the  whole  revenue;  in  Idaho  there  was  backstanding 
in  1866  $10.145,  and  in  Washington  in  1863  $11,063.  The 
chief  cause  of  delinquency  seems  to  have  been  in  the  fitfulness 
and,  sometimes,  the  reluctance  of  the  county  treasurers  in  re- 
mitting. In  fact,  government  in  the  territories  as  revealed  in 
financial  affairs  appears  to  have  been  ill  jointed,  in  comparison 
with  the  well-knit  system  put  into  operation  in  British  Colum- 
bia.63 Certainly  the  amounts  of  revenue  collected  in  the  ter- 
ritories seem  insignificant  compared  to  the  sums  realized  in 
British  Columbia.  But  some  large  allowances  must  be  made. 
The  main  sources  of  income  in  the  territories  were  the  property 
tax,  poll  tax,  tax  on  "foreign"  miners,  percentages  on  fran- 
chises, and  licenses  for  many  sorts  of  business;  and  it  will  be 
observed  that  the  most  important  items  of  revenue  in  British 
Columbia  were  lacking  in  the  American  territories — namely, 
the  revenues  from  customs  and  from  land  sales.64  Deducting 
these  two  items  from  the  revenues  of  1859  and  1864,  respec- 
tively, we  have  left  £11,761  ($57,040)  and  £28,027  ($135,930), 
On  the  other  hand,  large  sums  in  the  territories  were  contrib- 
uted to  the  Federal  government.  To  segregate  the  amounts 
paid  for  customs,  indeed,  by  any  single  territory  would  be 
difficult,  if  not  impossible;  but  as  example  of  direct  taxation 
by  the  Federal  government  (outside  of  excise  on  liquors)  we 
find  that  Montana  paid  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 
1866;,  $113,134,  and  for  the  next  year  the  assessment  was  about 
the  same.  The  territorial  government  for  the  same  years,  re- 
spectively, received  $23.316  and  $56,323.  That  a  careful  sys- 
tem brought  satisfactory  returns  is  shown  both  by  the  increas- 
ing effectiveness  of  territorial  taxation  as  government  became 
better  ordered,  and  by  the  fact  that  99%  per  cent,  of  the  Fed- 


62  Hailey,  History  of  Idaho,  pp.  118  and  133. 

63  In  British  Columbia  there  were  no  counties  at  this  period. 

94  The  difficulty  of  effective  taxation  was  increased  in  the  American  territories 
by  the  fact  that  comparatively  little  land  was  patented  or  deeded. 

[348] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  213 

eral  tax  leviable  was  collected.05  Moreover,  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  in  British  Columbia  most  of  the  local  taxation 
was  included  in  the  colonial  revenues,  while  in  the  territories 
county  and,  more,  town  taxation  was  very  considerable;  and, 
finally,  that  taxation  in  the  forms  of  tolls  levied  by  owners  of 
franchises  for  ferries,  bridges,  and  roads  seems  to  have  been 
decidedly  less  in  the  former.  On  the  other  hand,,  the  Federal 
taxation  in  the  territories  was  on  a  war  basis.  The  only  way 
in  which  we  could  arrive  at  exact  comparisons  would  be  to 
figure  all  items  to  a  per  capita  conclusion,  but  this,  because 
of  the  involved  relations  of  the  Federal  and  territorial  govern- 
ments, is  impossible.  On  the  whole,  however,  one  gets  the  im- 
pression that,  while  taxation  in  British  Columbia  was  propor- 
tionately in  excess  of  that  in  the  United  States,  the  difference 
was  by  no  means  so  pronounced  as  it  seems  at  first  glance.66 

Comparison  of  expenditures  in  the  two  regions  yields  no 
more  conclusive  results  than  in  the  case  of  revenues.  In 
British  Columbia  the  colonial  government,  indeed,  spent  sums 
in  comparison  to  which  the  expenditures  of  the  territorial  gov- 
ernments were  insignificant;  but  here,  again,  there  is  no  com- 
mon plane  for  comparison.  For  the  colonial  government  spent 
large  sums  on  roads  and  means  of  transportation,  provided 
mail  facilities  (though  inadequate  compared  to  those  furnished 
by  the  Federal  government),  met  the  expenses  of  the  land  offi- 
cials, paid  most  of  the  cost  of  military  expeditions,  and  bore 
many  expenditures  provided  for  by  local  authorities  in  the 
United  States.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Federal  government 
in  the  territories  spent  a  large  amount  for  military  protection, 
and  on  Indians,  provided  postal  facilities  and  land  surveys, 
built  roads,  paid  the  salaries  (in  large  part)  of  the  more  im- 
portant officials,  built  government  buildings,  and,  in  fact,  fur- 
nished far  the  larger  proportion  of  governmental  expenditure 


65  Items  in  regard  to  receipts  from  taxation  in  Montana  are  derived  from  the 
^ssage  of  Governor  Green  Clay  Smith  for  1866  and  from  the  Treasurer's  Re- 
>rt  for  1867,  Con.  His.  Soc.  Hon.,  Vol.  V,  pp.  130-131  and  156-7. 
60  It  was  urged  in  British  Columbia,  in  defense  of  rigid  taxation  of  miners, 
that,  while  the  miners  received  the  good   of  such  improvements  as  roads,  etc., 
for  which   heavy  indebtedness  was  incurred,   many  of  them  were   likely  to  go 
away,  leaving  to  the  more  stable  inhabitants  the  payment  of  the  debts. 

[349] 


214  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

within  the  territories.67  In  the  matter  of  salaries,  however, 
interesting  comparisons  are  possible.  The  Governor  of  British 
Columbia  in  1863  received  £3,000  ($14,550),  the  Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  £1,200  ($5,820),  and  the  Colonial  Secretary 
£811  ( $3,880  ).68  Governor  Seymour,  however,  the  successor 
of  Governor  Douglas  received  a  total  sum  of  £5,450  ($26,432.50), 
the  items  of  which  were  for  transport  £1.000.  furnishing  of 
residence  £1,000,  and  salary  £3,450.69  Such  a  salary  for  a  col- 
ony having  less  than  fifteen  thousand  population  certainly  did 
not  accord  with  American  ideals.  The  Governor  of  Idaho  re- 
ceived from  the  Federal  government  a  salary  of  $2,500,  the 
Chief  Justice  and  two  associate  justices  each  $2,500  and  the 
Secretary  $2.000.  But  these  salaries  represented  much  less  in 
reality,  because  of  being  paid  in  depreciated  greenbacks,  while 
those  of  British  Columbia  were  paid  at  par.70  Extra  compen- 
sation, however,  was  voted  by  the  territorial  legislature,  the 
governor  receiving  $2,111,  the  supreme  judges  $9,229  and  the 
secretary  $2,754.71  Except  for  the  great  discrepancy  in  the 
governor's  salaries  the  salaries  of  the  other  officials,  with  the 
extra  compensation,  were  not  greatly  different;  and  the  Gov- 
ernor of  British  Columbia  was  expected  to  meet  expenses  such 
as  did  not  ordinarily  fall  to  the  governors  of  territories. 7- 
Moreover,  the  expenses  of  the  territoral  legislatures  were  not 
inconsiderable;  in  addition  to  $4  per  day  and  transportation 
at  the  rate  of  $4  for  every  twenty  miles  travelled  for  each 
member,  the  first  two  sessions  of  the  Idaho  legislature  cost  in 
extra  compensations  more  than  eighteen  thousand  dollars.73 


67  There  was  some  mention  in  1861  of  making  Washington  Territory  a  state, 
but  the  Overland  Press  argued  that  the  territorial  condition  was  to  be  preferred, 
because  the  United  States  government  bore  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  expense. 
Overland  Press,  Nov.  21,  1861. 

88  Schedule  of  Salaries,  1863,  MS. 

69  Ordinance  to  grant  to  Her  Majesty  £135,639  for  1864.     Government  Gazette, 
Feb.  20,  1864. 

70  Organic  Act  of  Idaho. 
"Hailey,  His.  of  Idaho,  p.   119. 

72  Of  course  the  extra  compensation  could  not  always  be  depended  upon,  and 
it  was  ordered  discontinued  by  Congress  in  1870. 

73  Hailey,  His.  of  Idaho,  p.  119.     No  blame  attaches  to  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature, for  expenses  of  all  sorts  were  very  high.     In  fact  salary  schedules  appli- 
cable to  agricultural  territories  were  very  inadequate  for  mining  regions. 


[350] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  215 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  EVOLUTION  OF  ORDER  AND  LAW  IN  THE  AMER- 
ICAN  TERRITORIES 

In  the  establishment  of  forms  of  order  for  the  society  which 
the  mining  advance  deposited  among  the  mountains  south  of 
the  Line,,  two  forces  worked.  The  one  was  extraneous  and  of 
national  origin,  the  other  indigenous  to  the  mountain  regions 
and  derived  from  California;  the  one  was  the  United  States 
territorial  form  of  government,  the  other  the  forms  of  organ- 
ization characteristic  of  mining  camps.  Let  us  consider  first 
the  former. 

1.     The  territorial  form  of  Government. 

The  mining  advance  brought  about  the  organization  of  two 
new  territories.  The  rush  to  the  Nez  Perees  mines  in  1861  and 
to  Salmon  River  in  1862  resulted  in  the  passage  by  Congress, 
March  3,  1863,  of  the  act  creating  the  Territory  of  Idaho,  and 
the  rush  to  Grasshopper  Creek  and  to  Alder  Gulch  in  1862,  and 
1863,  brought  about,  May  26,  1864,  the  creation  of  the  terri- 
tory of  Montana. 

Prior  to  the  formation  of  Idaho  Territory,  the  mining  re- 
gions later  embraced  in  it  (and  also  that  part  of  Montana  ly- 
ing west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains)  were  in  the  Territory  of 
Washington;  and  the  first  steps  toward  governmental  control 
of  these  regions,  therefore,  fell  to  that  Territory.  The  Wash- 
ington Legislature,  previous  to  the  division  of  the  Territory, 
created  the  counties  of  Shoshone,  Nez  Perce,  Idaho,  Boise,  and 
Missoula,  all  of  which  were  more  or  less  effectively  organized, 
and  from  most  of  these  members  were  sent  to  the  legislature. 
In  the  governor's  message  for  1861  attention  was  called  to 
the  necessity  for  a  code  of  mining  laws  for  "the  great,  the 
controlling  interest  of  our  Territory,"  and  it  was  suggested 

[351] 


216  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN^ 

that  the  laws  should  be  liberal  and  just,  "such  as  have  been 
found  to  work  well  in  California  and  other  mining  districts." 
Many  franchises  for  roads,  ferries,  and  bridges  were  granted 
at  different  sessions.  One  important  deficiency  in  the  working 
of  territorial  government  was  indicated  in  the  message  of  Gov- 
ernor Pickering,  in  1862,  in  which  he  mentioned  the  lack  of 
sets  of  the  territorial  laws,  particularly  in  the  new  counties. 
The  Federal  government  was  urged  by  the  territorial  legisla- 
ture to  secure  to  miners  the  right  to  work  in  the  Nez  Percys 
country  which,  it  was  asserted,  was  covered  by  "improvident 
and  unjust  treaties,"  and  to  extinguish  the  Indian  title  to  the 
Boise  country.  But  while  the  legislature  was  thus  zealous  on 
behalf  of  the  mining  regions,,  political  control  by  the  Puget 
Sound  country  was  endangered  by  the  rapid  growth  of  popu- 
lation in  the  eastern  section  of  the  territory,  and  division 
of  the  territory  was  agitated.  In  the  interior  the  project  was 
favored  by  Lewiston  which  hoped  to  be  the  capital  of  the  new 
territory,  but  opposed  by  Walla  Walla  which  hoped  to  become 
the  capital  of  the  old  territory;  while  on  the  Sound  the  people 
perceived  the  danger  that  the  capital  might  be  removed,  and 
that  they  might  be  included  in  inconvenient  taxation.1  Divi- 
sion was  favored,  also,  by  W.  H.  Wallace,  territorial  delegate 
to  Congress  (who  became  the  first  governor  of  Idaho  Terri- 
tory), and  it  met  finally  with  general  acquiescence.  Thus  came 
into  being  the  new  Territory  of  Idaho. 

The  creation  of  the  Territory  of  Montana  appears  to  have 
been  a  simple  process  springing  directly  from  the  exigencies  of 
the  mining  advance.  Hon.  Sidney  Edgerton,  who  had  been 
appointed  the  first  Chief  Justice  of  Idaho  Territory,  arrived 
at  East  Bannack  in  the  fall  of  1863.  The  great  rush  to  Alder 
Gulch  was  at  that  time  in  full  tide,  and  thousands  of  persons 
were  living  on  a  spot  that  a  few  months  before  was  but  a  wilder- 
ness. In  the  stern  conflict  which  took  place  in  the  next  few  months 
following  Judge  Egerton's  arrival  between  the  elemental  forces 
of  order  and  disorder  the  authority  of  the  chief  justice  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  asserted.  Judge  Edgerton  was  a  man 


Overland  Press,  Men.  3,  1862;   San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Jan.  7,  1863» 

[352] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  217 

not  lacking  in  ability  and  decision,  but  the  office  of  territorial 
justice  did  not  carry  with  it  as  much  weight  and  fitness  for 
dealing  with  crises  as  did  that  of  judge  in  British  Columbia. 
The  citizens  of  Bannack  and  of  Virginia,  remote  from  the  cap- 
tal  of  the  territory  and  involved  in  a  critical  struggle  between 
the  forces  of  order  and  disorder,  felt  that  there  was  need  for 
a  new  territory  and  requested  Judge  Edgerton  to  lay  their  case 
before  the  authorities  at  the  national  capital.  A  winter  jour- 
ney back  to  Washington  resulted  in  the  Organic  Act  for  Mon- 
tana Territory,  and  in  Judge  Edgerton  being  appointed  the  first 
Governor.2 

In  delimiting  the  new  territories  little  or  no  attention  was 
given  to  natural  physiographic  boundaries.  The  worst  disre- 
gard of  physiographic  considerations  occurred  in  the  case  of 
Idaho,  where  regions  decisively  separated  physiographicaliy 
and  affiliated  naturally  with  adjacent  regions  in  other  terri- 
tories, were  joined  together.  There  early  began  in  this  terri- 
tory a  movement  for  the  formation  of  a  new  territory  more 
conformed  to  physiography,  which  has  persisted  in  varying 
ways  to  the  present  day.  A  proposition  was  made  in  IS 65  to 
create  such  a  division  by  running  a;  line  from  the  southwest 
Corner  of  Montana  along  the  Salmon  Eiver  Range,  to  the  line 
of  the  Columbia  and  the  Okanogan.  "This  would  embrace," 
declared  The  Lewiston  Radiator  which  was  the  champion  of 
redivision,  "that  section  of  country  which  by  physical  forma- 
tion and  identity  of  interest  among  its  population,  naturally 
belongs  to  one  political  community,  to  a  great  degree  separated 
from  Boise  on  the  south,  Washington  on  the  west,  Montana  on 
the  east,  and  barred  from  political  affinity  with  the  people  of 
the  north  by  the  British  line."  The  population  of  the  new 
territory  would  be  8.000  or  9,000  at  the  start,  and  territorial 
organization  would  soon  be  followed  by  statehood.  The  region 
would  thus  become  better  known,  arid  immigration  would  in- 


2  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  336-338.  Congress  was  not  averse  to 
forming  new  territories  at  this  period,  since  the  administrative  offices  could  be 
filled  by  Union  men,  and  the  Republican  party  organization  thereby  strength- 
ened. 

The  origin  of  the  names  Montana  and  Idaho  has  been  a  matter  of  considerable 
dispute ;  they  seem  first  to  have  gained  currency  in  Colorado. 


[353] 


218  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

crease.  "Nature  herself,"  the  article  continued,  "has  marked 
out  the  boundaries  of  the  Territory  proposed  as  shown,  and  it 
matters  not  how  much  man  may  attempt  to  improve  upon  her 
work,  he  cannot  neglect  to  follow  her  and  succeed  in  such  man- 
ner as  obedience  to  her  teachings  will  warrant."1  Opposing 
arguments  were  put  forth  by  The  Idaho  World,  which  inti- 
mated that  the  project  arose  from  the  disappointed  ambitions 
of  aspiring  gentlemen,  because  of  the  removal  of  the  capital 
from  Lewiston  to  Boise.  The  territory  was  large,  it  was  ad- 
mitted, but  the  material  interests  (mainly  mining)  were  more 
nearly  identical  than  those  of  any  territory  or  state  on  the 
Coast.  "Western  and  eastern  Oregon  are  not  homogeneous; 
California  has  its  mineral  districts  and  its  'Cow  Country'; 
Washington  Territory  its  Sound  interests  and  those  of  a  distant 
interior.  Still,  they  all  manage  to  exist  and  prosper — and  so 
has  Idaho.  If  strict  identity  of  interest  is  to  prevail  in  the  lo- 
cation of  boundaries,  every  mining  camp  and  school  district 
would  be  entitled  to  a  separate  Territorial  existence."4 

Perhaps  it  was  the  desire  to  overcome  the  effects  of  physio- 
graphic separation  which  induced  the  Republicans  of  Idaho  to 
hold  their  second  territorial  Convention  at  a  remote  spot  on 
the  trail  from  Lewiston  to  Idaho  City,  and  about  one  hundred 
miles  from  the  latter  place.5  The  blare  of  bands,  the  gather- 
ings in  hotels,  and  the  stir  and  noise  of  great  crowds  were  ab- 
sent at  this  con/ention.  The  only  buildings  anywhere  around 
was  Packer  John's  cabin,  a  small  log  hut  roofed  with  shakes. 
The  delegates  ate  in  this  cabin  and  slept  under  the  trees  adjoin- 
ing, while  their  horses  grazed  peacefully  around.  The  great 
work  of  the  convention  was  the  selection  of  a  nominee  for  dele- 
gate to  Congress,  this  office  then  being  very  highly  prized.0 
In  the  first  election  in  Idaho  Territory,  when  the  majority  of 
the  people  were  in  the  northern  part,  the  Republicans  had  been 


3  Lewiston  Radiator,  Feb.  4,   1865,  in   San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Men.  7, 
1865. 

*The  Idaho  World,  Feb.  4,  1865. 

5  A  description   of  this   Convention  is  found  in   Goulder's   Re  minis  censes,    pp. 
280-287. 

6  Governor  Stevens   of  Washington  Territory  and  Governor  Wallace  of  Idaho 
Territory  resigned  the  office  of  Governor  in  order  to  be  elected  as  congressional 
delegate. 

[354] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  219 

successful;  but  the  discovery  of  the  Boise  mines  drew  thither 
many  people  from  Missouri,  and  their  arrival,  with  some  con- 
tributing causes,  made  the  Territory  Democratic  for  several 
decades.  Montana  also  was  Democratic  during  the  early  min- 
ing period.  In  both  territories  conventions  were  regularly  held 
almost  from  the  start,  and  regular  party  machinery  was  or- 
ganized. This  party  method  of  arriving  at  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple and  of  carrying  on  government  was  in  decided  contrast  to 
the  simple  and  swift  procedure  that  obtained  in  British  Co- 
lumbia. 

In  connection  with  the  organization  of  parties  in  the  new 
territories  the  question  arises  as  to  the  prevalence  of  secession 
sentiment  in  these  territories.  As  was  natural,  people  who  came 
from  the  border  states,  or  from  farther  south,  were  earnestly 
sympathetic  with  the  Confederacy ;  and  it  was  natural,  also,  that 
this  sympathy  should  find  expression,  and  that  there  should  be 
more  or  less  friction  with  ardent  Unionists  (of  whom  there  were 
many),  and  with  the  Federal  administration.  Sentiment  among 
the  American  miners  in  British  Columbia  was  clearly  for  the 
Union,  and  citizens  of  Victoria  made  contributions  to  the  care  of 
Union  soldiers  and  to  Lancashire  sufferers — to  the  latter  $12,000.7 
In  northern  Idaho  sentiment  was  more  divided  and  passions 
seemed  to  deepen,  as  the  war  went  on,  and  people  came  in  from 
the  East.  "  Among  the  people  at  the  mines  and  along  the  line  of 
March/'  wrote  a  newspaper  correspondent  in  1861,  "I  heard  but 
little  of  Union  or  Disunion.  Those  from  the  Seceding  States 
had  not  much  to  say  beyond  sad  regrets  that  the  country  should 
deliberately  go  to  war  with  itself.8  There  were,  however,  at  the 
mines  occasional  " rough  scenes  and  personal  collisions,"  some- 
times attended  by  fatal  consequences.9  Yet  the  fiercest  seces- 
sionists and  the  most  uncompromising  abolitionists  were  often 
the  closest  of  friends.  In  southern  Idaho,  however,  passion  ran 
much  more  high.  "The  left  wing  of  Price's  army,"  as  the 
Union  men  styled  the  rougher  element  from  the  border  states, 
contained  undoubtedly  many  reckless  men  accustomed  to  vio- 


T  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Mch.  23,  1863. 

*  Id.,  July  28,  1861. 

9  Goulder,  Keminisicenses,  p.  207. 

[355] 


220  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

lence,  who  tried  to  terrorize  Union  men.'0  Affrays  and  duels 
were  not  uncommon.  The  most  noteworthy  of  these  (and  one 
which  brought  the  community  to  the  verge  of  deplorable  con- 
flict) was  that  between  Pinkham,  a  Union  man  originally  from 
Maine,  and  Ferd  Patterson,  a  secessionist  born  iri  Tennessee, 
which  resulted  in  the  death  of  the  former.11  In  both  Idaho  and 
Montana  determined  objection  was  made  to  the  iron-clad  oath 
by  some  of  the  members  of  the  legislatures.1-  The  attitude  of 
some  of  the  members  of  the  legislature  in  Idaho  may  be  learned 
from  the  majority  report  of  the  Committee  on  Military  and  In- 
dian Affairs,  concerning  a  bill  providing  bounties  for  territorial 
volunteers  who  might  have  been  wanted  for  garrison  duty  in 
the  territory.  Governor  Lyon  in  urging  the  matter  said-  in  his 
characteristic  fashion,  "I  feel  it  will  be  a  rare  privilege  for  the 
great  hearted,  whole-souled  mountaineers,  ranchmen,  and  miners, 
to  contribute  in  this  way  their  support  to  a  government  beneath 
whose  starry  flag  their  cradles  were  rocked  and  that  still  flings 
its  protecting  shadow  over  their  fathers'  graves."  The  report 
of  the  committee,  however,  asserted  that  from  the  third  of 
March,  1863,  to  December  seventh,  1863.  "more  than  30,000 
persons,  thrown  promiscuously  together,  into  a  crude  and  most 
irregular  form  of  society,  were  obliged  to  remain  in  the  same 
chaotic  condition,  without  judicial  tribunals,  without  officers, 
without  law;"  and  the  first  evidence  given  that  the  General 
Governntent  intended  to  exercise  any  care  over  them,  was  the 
advent  of  a  class  of  political  hackneys,  sent  among  them  by  the 
Administration  at  Washington,  "a  set  of  officials  more  intent 
on  securing  personal  advantage  than  on  promoting  the  welfare 
of  the  individual  community." 

"Has  the  Mother  Government  grown  so  weak  and  become  so 
impoverished  during  the  "sixty  days'  rebellion"  the  report  con- 
tinued, l  i  that  it  can  exercise  no  care  over  the  people  of  the  prov- 
inces, except  to  send  tax  gatherers  and  officials  to  rule  over  them 
and  eat  out  their  substance?"  The  bill  failed  to  pass.  In 


10  Butler,  J.  S.,  Life  and  Times  in  Idaho,  MS. 

11  An  account  of  this  celebrated  case  may  be  found  in  Langford,  Vigilante  Days 
and  Wans,  Vol.  I,  pp.  182-211. 

**  Journals  of  the  Council  and  House  of  Representatives  of  Idaho  Territory, 
4th  session,  pp.  298-9. 

[356] 


TRIMBLE — MIXING  ADVANCE  221 

Montana,  while  there  was  some  friction,  on  the  whole,  a  happier 
state  of  affairs  prevailed,  particularly  in  the  relations  of  the 
citizens  to  each  other.  Possibly  the  acute  conflict  there  waged 
with  the  criminal  element  helped  to  allay  controversy.13  A  care- 
ful characterization  of  Montana  conditions  has  been  left  by 
Col.  W.  F.  Sanders,  who  described  them  as  follows.  "There  was 
considerable  bad  blood  extant  concerning  the  war,  about  which 
the  communities  radically  differed.  I  think  upon  the  whole  as 
much  philosophy  and  good  nature  was  manifested  as  under  the 
circumstances  we  had  any  right  to  expect.  There  were,  of  course, 
some  hot  headed  men  who  would  have  been  glad  to  have  created 
trouble,  but  the  good  sense  of  the  more  moderate  people  prevailed 
and  matters  did  not  culminate  in  any  difficulty. '  '14 

In  the  appointment  of  territorial  officials  by  the  United  states 
government  a  prime  qualification  was  staunch  Unionism.  Not 
that  the  appointees  lacked  ability ;  although  part  of  them  were 
mediocre,  others  were  men  of  energy  and  of  some  distinction,  who 
grasped  quickly  the  conditions  surrounding  them  and  strove 
honestly  to  fill  worthily  their  offices.15  But  there  was  constant 
going  and  coming,  there  was  not  time  for  eastern  men  to  become 
familar  with  western  conditions,  and  there  was  no  such  identifi- 
cation with  and  devotion  to  the  community,  as  characterized  the 
work  of  Governor  Douglas  and  of  Judge  Begbie  in  British  Colum- 
bia.16 One  misses,  especially,  in  officials  in  the  territories,  the 
firm  assertion  of  authority  and  the  insistence  upon  obedience  to 
law  which  was  characteristic  of  the  government  of  British  Co- 
lumbia. Leniency  to  criminals,  acquiescence  in  punishment 
directly  inflicted  by  the  people,  lack  of  decision  in  treating  grave 
crimes,  and  over  attention  to  minor  obliquities  (such  as  prize- 


13  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mon.,  Vol.  4?  p.  127. 

14  Sketches  of  Early  Settlers  in  Montana,  Col.  W.  F.  Sanders,  MS.     The  above 
extract,  written  by  a  pronounced  Republican,  was  read  by  me  to  Judge  W.  Y. 
Pemberton,  of  opposite  political  affiliations,  who  gave  it  unqualified  endorsement. 

is  There  was  one  noteworthy  defalcation  in  the  case  of  Horace  C.  Gilson,  Sec- 
retary of  Idaho  Territory,  who  absconded  with  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 
That  such  crimes  were  not  lacking  in  British  Columbia,  also,  would  appear  from 
a  report  of  the  British  Columbian  that  within  a  few  weeks  the  Post  Master 
General,  Harbour  Master,  and  Colonial  Treasurer  became  defaulters.  British 
Columbian,  Jan.  2,  1862. 

16  For  a  resume  of  the  officials  of  Idaho  and  a  characterization  of  a  number 
•of  them  consult  Hailey,  History  of  Idaho,  Chap.  XXXV. 


[357] 


222  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

fighting,  gambling,  and  Sabbath  breaking)  were  apparent  in 
administration,  south  of  the  Line.  The  comparative  levity  of 
American  officials  towards  the  most  grave  transgressions  of 
order  is  illustrated  in  an  incident  narrated  in  the  biography 
of  Governor  James  M.  Ashley.  It  would  be  a  mistake  to  think 
of  Mr.  Ashley  as  a  weakling  or  a  coward;  for  he  was  a  noted 
fighter  for  abolition  and  the  rights  of  negroes,  long  a  member 
of  Congress,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Territories,  and 
always  an  uncompromising  radical.  The  quotation  is  as  follows : 
"One  of  his  most  interesting  experiences  was  connected  with 
an  old  fashioned  western  lynching.  A  miner  near  Helena  had 
'struck  it  rich',  and  brought  his  gold  into  town  to  exchange  it 
for  greenbacks.  This  done  he  went  to  the  nearest  saloon  and 
proudly  exhibited  his  roll,  with  the  natural  result  that  he  was 
followed  from  the  saloon  to  a  quiet  spot  outside  of  the  city  and 
there  assaulted  and  robbed.  He  lived  long  enough  to  give  a 
description  of  his  murderers.  These  were  soon  apprehended  by 
a  vigilance  committee  and  brought  to  trial  in  the  most  public 
way — in  a  large  hall  in  Helena.  Governor  Ashley  knew  of  this, 
but  recognizing  the  absolute  necessity  of  protection  being  afforded 
the  miners,  who  for  the  most  part  lived  in  lonely  cabins,  and 
knowing  the  lack  of  a  secure  jail  to  hold  criminals  for  a  long 
time  which  the  regular  process  of  courts  allow  the  criminal 
on  trial,  and  also,  aware  of  his  inability  to  cope  with  the 
vigilantes  even  if  he  so  desired,  he  did  not  try  to  interfere.  At 
this  juncture  a  New  England  lawyer  appeared  on  the  scene, 
whose  name,  according  to  the  writer's  best  recollection,  was 
Judge  Gillette.  The  judge  was  horror  struck  at  the  idea  of 
any  man  being  tried  except  by  the  regular  course,  like  most 
other  New  Englanders  who  have  gone  a  long  way  from  the  rec- 
ollection of  the  Boston  Tea  Party,  and  other  similar  informal 
events  that  took  place  in  good  old  Massachusetts,  and  it  was  hard 
for  him  to  imagine  that  any  state  of  affairs  admitted  of  any  de- 
parture from  the  strict  rules  of  the  law.  He,  therefore,  called 
upon  Governor  Ashley  and  made  a  typical  academic  law  and 
order  speech.  The  Governor  suppressing  his  strong  tendency 
to  laugh,  made  a  rejoinder  with  all  earnestness. 

''Now,  Judge,"  said  he,  "you  must  see  how  helpless  I  am.     I 

[358] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  223 

have  no  force  capable  of  dealing  with  these  vigilantes,  and  if  I 
should  go  down  to  the  hall  and  make  any  attempt  to  stop  the 
proceedings,  it  would  simply  result  in  a  disgraceful  showing  of 
contempt  for  my  authority ;  but  I  know  these  people  are  liberal, 
and  that  they  would  be  willing  to  hear  what  anybody  has  to 
say  on  the  subject.  Now,  suppose  you  go  down  to  the  hall  and 
ask  to  be  heard,  and  make  them  the  same  kind  of  a  speech  you 
have  made  me.  I  think  they  will  listen  to  you,  and  we  will  see 
what  the  result  is."  Gillette  thought  the  suggestion  a  good 
one,  obtained  a  hearing  and  made  a  speech.  After  he  concluded 
his  stirring  appeal  for  law  and  order  there  was  a  moment's  silence 
and  some  man  in  the  rear  yelled  out :  *  *  Judge,  that 's  a  damn  fine 
speech.  Go  on  with  the  trial!" 

1 '  The  next  morning  the  Governor  became  aware  that  something 
exciting  was  going  on  across  the  gulch  which  lay  in  the  rear 
of  his  house,  and  emerging  from  the  kitchen  door  and  shading 
his  eyes,  he  looked  across  and  saw  hanging  from  "Hangman's 
Tree"  the  bodies  of  two  men,  while  a  large  concourse  in  the 
vicinity  were  indulging  in  foot  races  and  other  amusements. 
After  uttering  a  slight  exclamation  the  Governor  turned  around, 
went  in  the  house,  and  the  affair  was  a  closed  incident  so  far 
as  he  was  concerned."17  Looking  at  this  occurrence  from  the 
point  of  view  usual  in  the  American  territories,  Governor  Ashley 's 
conduct  was  reasonable  and  defensible;  from  the  point  of  view 
of  government  in  British  Columbia  it  is  incomprehensible. 
Magistrate  O'Reilly  or  Judge  Begbie,  it  may  safely  be  affirmed, 
would  have  been  instant  and  strenuous  in  asserting  the  dignity 
and  supremacy  of  the  law,  and  Governor  Douglas  would  have 
exhausted  every  resource  in  supporting  these  officials.  But  in 
truth  the  American  officials  lacked  authority  and  prestige. 

The  most  vital  and  the  widest  authority  south  of  the  Line  was 
that  of  the  Legislature,  but  this  authority  was  not  administrative 
and  was  shared,  formally,  by  the  Governor.  The  Organic  Act 
of  Idaho  declared  that  the  legislative  power  should  extend  to 
"all  rightful  subjects  of  legislation  consistent  with  the  Con- 


17  Governor  James  M.  Ashley's  Biography  and  Messages,  Contr.  His.  Boc.  Man. 
Vol.  VI,  p.  192-3.  Cf.,  also,  Charge  to  the  Grand  Jury,  1864  and  1866,  by 
Chief  Justice  H.  L.  Hosmer ;  Pioneer  Reminiscences  by  Lyman  E.  Munson  Id 
Vol.  V,  pp.  235-252  and  p.  209. 

[359] 


224  BULLETIN   OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF   WISCONSIN 

stitution  of  the  United  States  and  the  provisions  of  this  Act"; 
but  no  law  was  to  be  passed  "interfering  with  the  primary 
disposal  of  the  soil",  and  it  was  provided  further,  "That, 
whereas  slavery  is  prohibited  in  said  territory  by  the  act  of 
Congress  of  June  nineteenth,  1862,  nothing  herein  contained  shall 
be  construed  to  authorize  or  permit  its  existence  therein." 

In  exercising  their  authority,  the  legislatures  both  of  Idaho 
and  Montana  adopted  the  Common  Law  of  England,  "so  far  as 
the  same  is  applicable,  and  of  a  general  nature,  and  not  in  con- 
flict with  the  special  enactments  of  this  territory."  They  also 
provided  practice  acts.  Some  classes  of  laws  passed  by  these 
legislatures  are  of  special  interest. 

One  of  these  groups  was  with  regard  to  occupation  of  the 
public  lands.  The  object  was  to  secure  to  the  occupants  peace- 
able possession  and  as  much  of  title  as  could  be  given  prior  to 
patent  from  the  United  States;  in  other  words,  the  object  sought 
was  a  legalization  of  squatters'  rights.  The  law  of  Montana, 
conceding  to  the  United  States  paramount  right,  gave  rights 
to  the  occupant  against  all  others.  It  sanctioned  a  claim  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  declaration  and  record ;  such  a  claim 
was  declared  a  "chattel  real,  possessing  the  character  of  real 
estate,"  could  be  sold  by  deed,  and  was  subject  to  execution. 
Mining  locations  were  excepted  from  agricultural  occupancy.18 

In  Idaho  there  was  an  "Act  for  Maintaining  and  Defending 
Possessory  Actions  on  the  Public  Land  in  this  Territory." 
Claims  were  to  be  of  not  more  than  160  acres,  in  compact  form 
and  clearly  bounded;  within  90  days  after  recording,  improve- 
ments to  the  value  of  $200  were  to  be  niade.  Any  citizen,  or 
one  who  had  declared  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen,  might 
maintain  action  for  interference  with  or  injury  to  the  posses- 
sion of  land.  Miners,  however,  might  go  upon  such  lands,  if 
they  contained  mines  of  any  precious  metals,  and  work  such 
mines  "as  fully  as  if  no  such  claim  for  agriculture  or  grazing 
purpose  had  been  made  thereon;"  provided,  however,  compen- 
sation were  made  for  crops  planted  prior  to  location.19 

An  Act  of  the  Territory  of  Montana  had  reference  to  an 


18  The  Montana  Post,  Jan.  21,  1865. 

19  Laws  of  Idaho,  Second  session,  p.  421-2. 

[360] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  225 

interesting  custom,  not  without  significance  in  the  evolution  of 
law.  This  act  forbade  ranchmen  and  stable  keepers  from  using 
stock  left  with  them,  without  the  consent  of  the  owner.  Since 
the  prices  of  feed  in  the  mining  camps  prohibited  keeping 
animals  in  towns  for  any  length  of  time,  persons  found  it  prof- 
itable to  establish  ranches  a  few  miles  from  the  towns,  where 
horses  and  pack  animals  might  be  corraled  and  herded.  A 
ranch  generally  had  an  agent  in  the  town  to  whom  the  stock 
was  intrusted,  and  who  was  notified  when  the  owner  was  in  need 
of  it.  Not  infrequently  both  ranch  keeper  and  agent  were  in 
league  with  road  agents,  and  in  consequence,  it  was  often  a 
matter  of  great  difficulty  for  a  man  who  desired  to  carry  treasure 
without  the  gang  knowing  it.  Moreover,  if  a  man  had  a  good 
horse,  it  was  not  unlikely  to  be  used  by  the  ranchman  or  his 
friends  or  to  become  permanently  "sick"  or' 'lost".  On  the 
other  hand,  when  vigilantes  arose,  it  was  difficult  for  roughs  in 
town  to  leave  unobserved,  and  an  honest  ranchman  might  furnish 
mounts  for  vigilantes  who  needed  them.20 

One  of  the  most  striking  and  important  features  of  territorial 
legislation  in  connection  with  the  mining  advance  was  the  grant- 
ing of  numerous  franchises  for  roads,  ferries,  and  bridges. 
These  franchises,  of  course,  conferred  monopolistic  privileges, 
and  they  were  the  subject  of  much  execration.  Conditions  in  re- 
spect to  franchises,  from  the  point  of  view  of  opponents,  were  dis- 
cussed by  Governor  Ashley,  of  Montana,  as  follows:  "A  large 
majority  of  these  private  acts  conferred  extraordinary  privi- 
leges on  a  few  individuals,  and,  of  necessity,  excluded  from  the 
enjoyment  the  great  body  of  our  citizens.  And  I  speak  with, 
moderation  when  I  say  that  many  of  these  so-called  laws  author- 
ized persons  to  do  acts  which  were  little  better  than  legalized 
highway  robbery.  The  whole  territory  was  shingled  with  special 
franchises  so  that  travelers  and  packers,  and  freighters,  found 
in  every  canyon,  on  almost  every  water-course,  and  on  many 
broad  and  level  plains,  a  toll  collector,  who  demanded,  as  a 
condition  to  the  passing  of  each,  from  one  to  three  dollars.  The 
smallest  amount  demanded  at  any  toll  gate,  as  a  rule  is  one  doUar. 


20  McConnell,  W.  J.,  Idaho  Inferno,  MS.  p.  4;  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Hon.,  Vol    VI, 
p.  279-80. 

[361] 


226  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  WISCONSIN 

At  rickety  bridges,  which  are  often  unsafe  for  man  or  beast, 
from  one  to  three  dollars."  A  majority  of  all  the  acts,  memor- 
ials, and  joint  resolutions  passed  by  the  early  Montana  Legisla- 
tures, the  Governor  claimed,  were  of  a  private  character.  Con- 
gress finally  amended  the  Organic  Act  so  as  to  prohibit  special 
charters.21  Washington  Territory,  (during  the  period  when  it 
included  the  mining  regions)  and  Idaho  Territory  were  just  as 
lavish.22 

Valid  grounds  for  defense  of  the  conduct  of  the  legislatures, 
however,  are  not  lacking.  There  was  very  urgent  need  for  roads, 
ferries,  and  bridges  in  the  mining  regions.  If  one  can  imaging 
how  the  country  was  when  civilized  society  entered  it,  how 
formidable  were  the  obstacles  to  communication,  and  how  difficult 
and  even  dangerous  traveling  was,  he  can  more  readily  under- 
stand how  natural  and  insistent  were  the  demands  of  the  mining 
population  upon  the  legislatures.  How  were  these  demands  to 
be  met?  Recourse  could  be  had  to  the  Federal  government  for 
these  purposes  only  rarely  on  the  plea  of  military  or  postal 
necessity,  and  the  aid  given  was  far  too  slow  for  the  needs  of  a 
mining  people;  the  legislatures  on  their  part  had,  as  we  have 
seen,  extremely  scanty  revenues,  and  the  expense  of  getting  work 
done  was  great  on  account  of  the  high  prices  in  the  mining  dis- 
tricts. Shrewd  men,  of  course,  were  willing  under  special  privi- 
leges to  undertake  the  work,  because  of  the  prospect  of  good 
gains,  and  many  of  the  honored  names  of  the  territories  were  to 
be  found  among  the  owners  of  franchises.  It  should  be  noted 
also  that  limitations  were  generally  placed  upon  franchises  by 
the  legislatures,  especially  upon  such  as  were  of  special  impor- 
tance. The  rates  of  toll  to  be  charged  were  often  specified, 
and  generally  these  rules  were  to  be  subject  after  a  year  or  two 
to  the  control  of  the  county  commissioners.  There  was  always 
a  time  limitation  of  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  years,  and  sometimes 
it  was  provided  that  the  county  commissioners  could  take  over 
roads,  bridges,  or  ferries  on  payment  of  cost.  Failure  to  make 


-3  Ibid. 

22  Another  practice  of  the  territorial  legislatures,  which  was  reprobated  by 
executives  was  the  granting  of  divorces.  The  Legislature  of  Montana  at  its 
first  session  granted  9  divorces,  and  the  practice  was  persisted  in  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  Washington  in  spite  of  earnest  opposition  by  governors. 


[362] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  227 

improvements  within  the  specified  time  might  result  in  void- 
ance  of  the  franchise  and  certainly  in  the  lapse  of  legal  right  to 
collect  tolls.  Generally  there  was  some  special  taxation,  though 
not  very  heavy.  There  was  a  tendency,  moreover,  to  place  all 
such  special  acts  under  general  law,  and  also  to  relegate  such 
matters  largely  to  the  county  commissioners.23 

Notwithstanding  its  imperfections,  the  machinery  of  Ameri- 
can territorial  government  in  the  mining  regions  worked  gradu- 
ally toward  ordered  processes  of  law.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
whatever  might  have  been,  it  ivas  the  means  through  which  these 
territories  settled  down  to  the  conditions  usually  obtaining  in 
American  communities.  But  the  great  defect  lay  in  the  slowness 
of  administration  in  comparison  to  the  sudden  needs  of  mining 
camps.  While  Congress  was  legislating  for  one  set  of  conditions 
and  officials  journeying  slowly  over  the  plains,  conventions  and 
elections  being  held,  legislatures  gathering  and  county  organiza- 
tions being  effected,  the  mining  population  might  jump  hundreds 
of  miles  in  a  week,  fill  a  gulch  with  unorganized  society,  and  cre- 
ate conditions  imperatively  demanding  instant  readjustment  in 
the  application  of  the  forces  of  government.  The  fundamental 
trouble  was  that  a  system  of  government  which  had  been  evolved 
for  the  needs  of  an  agricultural  population,  in  regions  generally 
not  rugged,  failed  to  meet  the  demands  of  communities  of  miners 
in  mountainous  regions.  In  the  one  case,  population  came  in 
leisurely,  with  the  intention  of  permanency,  and  did  not  con- 
centrate densely ;  in  the  other  it  came  in  with  utmost  haste,  having 
little  idea  of  abiding,  and  gathered  in  more  compact  communities.. 

II.  Forms  of  organization  characteristic  of  mining  camps. 

The  looseness  and  ineffectiveness  of  the  American  territorial' 
machinery  which,  when  revealed  in  the  lack  of  control  of  crime,. 
made  imperative  the  robust  procedure  of  the  mining  camps,, 
may  be  illustrated  by  a  report  from  the  county  auditor  of  Madi- 
son County,  then  in  Idaho  Territory,  to  the  territorial  auditor: 


23  Lavs  of  Washington  Territory,  1858-1861,  Vol.   II,  pp.  86,   116,  and  130; 
Laws  of  Idaho  Territory,  First  Session,  pp.  645  and  647. 


[363] 


228  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF   WISCONSIN 

Virginia  City,  Idaho  Territory, 

Aug.  3rd,  1864. 
B.  F.  Lambkin, 

Territorial  Auditor, 

Lewiston,  Idaho. 
Dear  Sir:— 

Enclosed  find  simply  a  report  of  the  amount  of  money  received 
by  the  County  Treasurer  of  Madison  County.  We  have  st  re- 
bellion here  and  can  do  nothing  with  the  revenue  law  of  the 
Territory.  Our  merchants  have  held  indignation  meetings  and 
all  refuse  to  pay  the  license,  and  about  nine  tenths  refuse  to  pay 
the  poll  tax.  The  laws  are  very  odious  and  unpopular  with  the 
whole  people,  and  what  makes  it  worse  is  the  fact  we  are  sep- 
arated from  you  and  are  soon  to  be  organized  as  Montana  Ter- 
ritory. The  Governor  is  already  here  and  another  drawback  is, 
we  have  no  published  copy  of  the  law,  and  we  cannot  show 
;  authority  for  collecting  taxes.  We  have  nothing  but  an  old  bill 
introduced  into  the  House  or  Council  but  is  not  a  certified  copy 

€>f  the  law 

Yours  truly, 
R.  M.  Hagaman. 

Mr.  Hagaman  wrote  again  three  weeks  later  that  the  Governor 
was  about  to  commission  the  officers  of  the  new  territory,  and 
added — ,  "this  will  dissolve  I  suppose  our  connection  with. 
Idaho."24 

Still  more  significant  of  the  weakness  of  the  territorial  sys- 
tem, when  applied  to  criminal  conditions,  was  a  defect  brought 
out  in  a  decision  of  the  supreme  court  of  Idaho  Territory.  The 
decision  dealt  with  the  validity  of  criminal  law  in  the  terri- 
tory between  the  passage  by  Congress  of  the  Act  creating  the 
territory,  March,  1863,  and  the  enactment  of  a  criminal  code 
by  the  first  legislature  in  the  session  which  began  in  Decem- 
ber. It  will  be  recalled  that  this  was  just  the  period  when 
thousands  of  adventurers  rushed  into  Boise  Basin,  and  when 
the  need  of  law  was  very  great.  During  this  period  two  men 
had  been  tried  for  murder  and  adjudged  guilty,  the  one  re- 


24  Report  of  the  Territorial  Auditor  of  Idaho  Territory,  December  1,  1864,  p.  8. 

[364] 


TRIMBLE—MINING  ADVANCE  229 

ceiving  a  sentence  for  imprisonment  for  ten  years,  the  other 
for  twenty.  These  men  were  brought  before  the  Court  in  1866 
by  writ  of  habeas  corpus  and  were  ordered  released  on  the 
ground  that,  at  the  time  the  crimes  were  committed,  no  statute 
against  this  crime  existed  in  the  territory.  The  opinion  of 
the  court  was  based  on  the  following  considerations:  By  the 
Organic  Act,  Idaho  was  formted  out  of  portions  of  Washing- 
ton, Dakota,  Nebraska,  and  Utah  Territories.  The  Organic 
Acts  of  these  territories  in  so  far  as  they  applied  to  the  new 
Territory  were  at  its  formation  repealed  and  became  nullities. 
Hence,  statutes  based  on  them,  so  far  as  affecting  this  territory, 
were  invalid,  since  the  fountain  of  authority  was  stopped. 
"The  uniform  practice  .  .  .  conclusively  establishes,  we 
think,  the  principle  that  the  laws  of  the  old  organization  have 
no  force  in  the  new  political  community,  unless  by  special  pro- 
vision." In  the  act  organizing  this  territory  there  were  no 
provisions  recognizing  former  laws — an  impossibility,  indeed, 
since  the  territory  was  formed  from  four  territories.  Nor  was 
there  any  similarity  to  conquered  or  ceded  territory,  in  which 
case  laws  pass  with  the  people  and  the  soil,  because  this  case 
was  that  of  dismemberment  of  old  territory.  No  statute,  there- 
fore, existed,  and  the  court  ordered  these  proven  criminals  set 
at  liberty.  No  such  incident  occurred  in  British  Columbia, 
nor  would  it  seem  a  possibility  there.  While  this  decision  may 
not  directly  have  done  serious  damage  in  Idaho,  yet  this  atti- 
tude on  the  part  of  those  charged  with  administering  law  in 
preferring  theoretical  and  technical  considerations  to  plain, 
common-sense  justice  was  particularly  unfortunate  in  these  min- 
ing communities  in  their  formative  period;  and  it  made  neces- 
sary forms  of  organization  which  should  attain  swiftly  and 
more  surely  indispensable  ends.25 

The  form  of  organization  to  which  miners  always  turned 
naturally  was  that  of  the  mining  camp.  A  mining  camp  in 
the  mineral  regions  of  the  United  States,  as  is  well  understood, 
was  not  merely  a  collection  of  claims  or  of  cabins  but  gener- 
ally, also,  an  organized  form  of  local  government.  Each 


The  full  text  of  this  opinion  is  given  in  the  Idaho  World,  Aug.  25,  1866. 

[365] 


230  BULLETIN   OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

camp — or,  to  use  the  more  technical  term,  district — had  its 
customs  and  rules,  and  to  enforce  them  a  judge,  recorder,  and 
some  sort  of  executive  officer.  The  position  of  Miner's  Judge 
in  a  prosperous  camp  was  very  important,  and  he  was  gener- 
ally kept  busy  continually  hearing  cases.  All  sorts  of  cases 
were  tried  before  him  and  argued  by  attorneys,  who  were  to 
be  found  in  every  large  camp — cases  of  assault  and  battery, 
suits,  and  all  the  manifold  disputes  concerning  rights  to  claims 
and  to  water  which  arose  in  the  camp.  Disputants  might  have 
a  trial  by  jury,  if  they  would  agree  to  pay  the  jury  enough 
to  make  up  for  loss  of  time  on  their  claims.  In  case  of  dis- 
satisfaction, appeal  might  be  taken  to  a  miner's  meeting,  which 
was  the  final  source  of  authority.  The  miner's  meeting  was 
quite  like  a  New  England  town  meeting — except  that  it  was 
frequently  held  on  Sunday.  In  this  meeting  the  district  voted 
its  rules  and  regulations,  elected  its  officers,  decided  when 
claims  should  be  laid  over,  heard  appeals,  organized  for  mil- 
itary purposes,  and  sometimes  tried  cases — especially  the  more 
serious  ones,  such  as  robbery  or  murder.  Cases  might  be  tried 
by  the  meeting  itself,  or  left  to  a  jury  appointed  by  the  meet- 
ing. This  mining  camp  organization  originated  in  California 
and  spread  thence  everywhere  with  the  mining  advance  in 
American  territory;  and  even  in  British  Columbia  it  began  to 
be  used  by  the  miners  before  they  learned  that  there  it  would 
not  be  needed.  The  mining  camp  was,  as  an  institution,  a 
remarkable  example  of  the  American  instinct  for  order  when 
formal  law  was  dilatory  and  weak,  and  it  contributed  greatly 
to  the  evolution  of  law  and  order  in  the  American  territories.26 
There  is  an  interesting  example  of  the  informal  working  of 
the  mining  camp  in  an  action  of  Brown's  District,  Bivens 
Gulch,  Montana  Territory,  in  1864.  The  meeting  was  held  in 
the  saloon  of  J.  H.  Hughes  in  Bagdad  City,  for  the  purpose  of 
settling  a  dispute  between  "W.  P.  Allen  and  Company  and  Caleb 
Perry.  Wila  Huffaker  was  called  to  the  Chair,  and  E.  T. 
Headley  was  appointed  Secretary.  On  motion,  the  Chair  ap- 
pointed six  citizens  as  a  committee  to  try  the  case  and  render 


-6  A  careful  and  interesting  account  of  mining  camps  is  that  by  Charles  How- 
ard  Shinn,    Mining  Camps.     A   study  in  American   Frontier  Government. 

[366] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  231 

a  decision  according  to  the  evidence  and  testimony  advanced 
before  them.  The  committee  reported  that  Allen  and  Company 
were  entitled  to  receive  $100  from  Perry.  Perry,  however,  de- 
clared that  he  would  pay  nothing.  The  following  resolution 
was  then  adopted:  "Whereas,  It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  Caleb 
Perry  will  pay  no  debt  unless  by  force ;  and 

Whereas,  after  having  agreed  to  abide  by  the  decision  of  a 
jury  of  six  men  appointed  to  make  such  decision,  and  then  dis- 
puting the  right  of  such  jury  to  try  the  case,  and  refusing  to 
make  any  settlement, 

Resolved,  That  the  miners  of  this  district  put  Mr.  Allen  in 
possession  of  the  claims  of  Caleb  Perry  and  assist  and  protect 
him  in  working  the  same,  until  he  shall  have  taken  out  $100 
clear  of  expenses."  Perry  was  then  notified  that  unless  he 
complied  with  the  decision  within  twenty  minutes  Mr.  Allen 
should  be  put  in  possession  the  following  day.  Perry  refused 
to  comply,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  carry  out  the 
will  of  the  meeting.  Perry,  however,  promised  next  day  to 
pay  Allen  from  the  first  dust  taken  out,  but  on  leniency  be- 
ing shown,  paid  other  debts  first.  Another  meeting  was  held, 
and  it  was  resolved  to  put  Allen  and  Company  at  once  in  pos- 
session. Perry  was  called  in,  and  the  resolution  was  read  to 
him,  "to  his  great  disgust."  The  resolution  was  carried  out.27" 

But  local  government  by  the  miners  had  its  defects. 

In  the  first  place,  charges  of  monopolization  of  mining  ground 
were  repeatedly  made  in  all  sections  of  the,  mining  regions 
south  of  the  Line.  In  Owyhee  on  Jordan  Creek  the  first  twenty- 
nine  discoverers  appropriated  all  of  the  available  ground  by 
making  mining  laws  which  allowed  to  each  a  discovery  claim 
of  three  hundred  feet,  a  location  claim  of  the  same  size,  and 
in  addition  three  hundred  feet  for  a  friend.-8  In  Boise  Basin 
there  was  much  outcry  against  monopoly.288-  An  expedition  of 
forty-two  miners  which  prospected  in  1863  far  up  the  South 
Snake,  thinking  that  prospects  were  favorable  for  good  dig- 


27  The  Montana  Post,  Nov.   5,  and  26,  1864. 

28  Maize,  Early  Events  in  Idaho,  MS;  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  June  6, 
1864. 

^a  "Such   land  monopoly    [as  at  Boise]    and  such  mining  laws  were  never 
heard  of,"  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  Oct.  20,  1863. 

[367] 


232  BULLETIN  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

gings,  organized  into  a  miners'  meeting  and  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing regulations: 

1.  That  every  person  present  should  be  regarded  as  a  dis- 
coverer, in  each  and  every  gulch  found  by  any  party  or  mem- 
ber of  a  party. 

2.  That  each  member,  as  discoverer,  should  be  entitled  to  five 
claims  of  200  feet  each  along  the  gulch — viz.,  l  i  a  discovery  claim 
and  a  pre-emption  claim  in  the  main  gulch,   a  bar  claim,  a 
hill  claim,  and  a  patch  claim."     "These  liberal  and  disinter- 
ested regulations,"  one  of  the  party  wrote,  "were  voted  in  the 
affirmative  with  gratifying  unanimity  and  the  chairman  was 
just  about  to  put  the  question  to  the  meeting  whether  there  was 
any  more  business  before  it,  when  a  big  burly  Scotchman  named 
Brown,  who  had  apparently  been  turning  the  subject  over  in 
his  mind,  jumped  up  and  inquired  with  great  earnestness,  "But 
Mr.  Chairman,  what  shall  we  do  with  the  rest  of  it?"     The 
question,  it  was  reported,  was  received  with  roars  of  laugh- 
ter.29   A  mining  convention  in  Summit  District,  Montana,  as- 
serted that  legislation  was  needed  to  regulate  the  district  laws 
and  the  power  to  make  them;  "Fifty  men  may  make  the  laws 
of  a  gulch  which  may  contain  ten  times  that  number  before 
the  end  of  the  month.'-'30     In  the  region  around  Helena,  a  cor- 
respondent wrote  to  Judge  Hosmer,  "A  perfect  monopoly  ex- 
ists among  the  early  claimants.     Some  20  or  25  persons  first 
preempted  Last  Chance  Gulch  and  when  they  had  exhausted 
the  names,  they  went  above  or  below  and  formed  new  districts, 
and  thus  they  continued,  carrying  their  exclusiveness  into  other 
gulches  in  the  vicinity,  as  they  were  discovered;  and  to  enable 
them  to  hold  this  number  of  claims  they  passed  laws  to  suit 
themselves,    postponing    representation    to    suit    their    conven- 
ience."31    At  a  "miner's  mass  meeting"  at  Helena,  at  which 
there  were  said  to  have  been  800  people  present,  the  principle 
was  expressed  that  no  man  should  "hold  more  claims  thaoi  he 
can  represent  by  actual  labor,"  and  the  determination  was  an- 
nounced   to    break    down    these    "gambling-speculative    paper 


29  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mont.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  113-143. 

30  The  Montana  Post,  Dec.  10,  1864. 
81  The  Montana  Post,  Feb.  25,  1865. 

[368] 


TRIMBLE— .MINING  ADVANCE  233 

titles  and  put  picks  and  shovels  in  their  place."  The  evidence 
from  so  many  localities  would  indicate  that,  in  the  American 
system  of  free  competition  in  the  exploitation  of  the  public 
domain,  as  manifested  in  the  mining  camps,  there  was  a  percep- 
tible tendency  to  petty  monopolization — a  tendency  under  gen- 
eral governmental  regulation  from  the  start  in  British  Colum- 
bia. 

Something  is  to  be  said,  however,  on  the  other  side.  It  was 
true  that,  so  far  as  the  rules  went  in  some  of  the  mining  dis- 
tricts, a  man  could  hold  claims  in  more  than  one  district,  and 
that  the  requirements  of  representation  were  not  strict;  but, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  very  few  men  did  hold  claims  in  more 
than  one  district.  Why  were  not  alert  men,  moreover,  who  pro- 
spected far  at  much  expense,  or  who  got  up  in  the  middle  of 
the  night  to  take  part  in  a  stampede,  entitled  to  special  priv- 
ileges? Here  were  fellows,  on  the  other  hand,  who  loafed 
around  for  a  week  to  see  whether  new  ground  would  turn  out 
to  be  good,  and  then  wanted  a  share  of  the  rewards  of  the  en- 
ergetic, and  would  try  to  get  a  majority  in  miners'  meeting  in 
order  to  reduce  the  size  of  claims.  It  was  well  to  remember 
what  the  crowd  got  that  tried  to  jump  the  claims  of  some  dis- 
coverers across  the  Prickly  Pear — three  or  four  of  them  were 
killed,  and  the  rest  stampeded.  There  were  always  people  who 
were  discontented  with  other  people  because  they  had  some- 
thing, and  there  were  always  natural  agitators  glib  of  tongue, 
and  sometimes  intelligent  men  and  skilled  miners,  who  liked  to 
get  up  mass  meetings  and  try  to  overthrow  established  ways. 
In  reality,  there  was  no  such  thing  as  monopoly  in  the  mines.32 

Another,  and  a  real,  defect  of  the  system  of  local  mining 
law  was  that  the  miner's  meetings  were,  like  all  popular  bodies, 
liable  to  gusts  of  feeling,  and  sometimes  made  sudden  reversals 
of  judgment.  For  example,  when,  at  Virginia  City,  two  des- 
peradoes had  been  condemned  to  death  for  a  flagrant  murder 
and  were  on  the  point  of  being  executed,  because  of  the  clamors 
of  some  women  and  the  intercession  and  sharp  practices  of 


32 1   have  tried  in  this  paragraph   to  express  the  views  of   practical  miners. 
For  some  of  the  considerations  I  am  indebted  to  Judge  Pemberton   of  Helena. 


[369] 


234 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


friends,  they  were  let  off.33  It  is  not  denied,  of  course,  that 
there  were  executions  firmly  and  justly  conducted  by  miner's 
courts.  But  there  might  come  times  when  the  roughs  were  so 
numerous  and  so  well-organized  as  fairly  to  dominate  for  a 
while  the  mining  community — and  then  society  fell  back  upon 
that  summary  instrument  for  protecting  itself,  the  vigilante 
organization. 

At  the  outset  of  our  discussion  of  this  interesting  phase  of 
the  evolution  of  law  and  order  in  the  American  mining  camps, 
it  is  well  to  make  clear  the  difference  in  the  procedure  of  the 
vigilantes  and  that  of  the  ordinary  miners'  courts  or  meetings. 
When  a  man  was  arrested  by  authority  of  the  latter  organiza- 
tions, he  was  brought  to  trial,  and  the  determination  of  the 
case,  finally,  was  in  the  body  of  the  people;  when  a  man  was 
arrested  by  the  vigilante  organization,  his  trial  had  already 
been  held  and  the  punishment  determined  in  secret  by  a  few 
citizens.  The  mysteriousness,  swiftness,  and  certainty  with 
which  the  vigilantes  worked  awed  the  most  formidable  desper- 
adoes. It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  work,  however,  to  give  a 
circumstantial  account  of  the  thrilling  and  picturesque  achieve- 
ments of  the  various  vigilante  organizations  which  came  into 
being  in  the  mining  regions  of  our  study,  but  to  try  to  set  forth 
some  of  the  conditions  which  produced  them  and  determined 
their  efficiency  and,  especially,  to  describe  so  far  as  our  mate- 
rial will  permit  their  methods  of  organization.34  Since  the 
conditions  in  Montana  were  such  as  to  produce  a  remarkably 
thorough  and  effective  vigilante  organization,  let  us  turn  our 
attention  to  the  organization  in  that  territory  first. 

Nowhere  was  the  inadequacy  of  the  territorial  system  in  the 
mining  regions  attended  by  more  grave  consequences  than  in 
western  Montana.  When,  in  1862,  the  mining  movement  thither 
began  to  assume  noticeable  proportions,  that  part  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  was  in  Washington  Territory  and  dependent 
for  authority  to  form  legal  local  government  upon  the  legisla- 


33  Langford,  Vigilante  Days  and  Ways,  Vol.  I,  p.  359-70. 

34  For  narratives  and  descriptions  of  the  deeds  of  the  desperadoes  and  of  the 
circumstances    of    their    punishment    the    reader    is    referred    to    the    following 
works:     Dimsdale,   The  Vigilantes  of  Montana;  Langford,   Viglante  Days  and 
Ways;  Bancroft,  Popular   Tribunals. 

[370] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  235 

ture  which  met  on  Puget  Sound;  the  part  east  of  the  moun- 
tains, on  the  other  hand,  belonged  to  Dakota  Territory,  whose 
legislature  convened  at  Yankton  a  thousand  miles  or  more  down 
the  Missouri.  The  mining  community  which  was  forming  on. 
Grasshopper  Creek  was,  therefore,  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  latter.  There  was  a  constant  tendency  in  the  criminal  ele- 
ment of  mining  camps,  it  may  be  observed  at  this  point,  to 
migrate  from  older  camps  where  order  had  begun  to  evolve  to 
these  new  camps,  where,  for  a  while  at  least,  unrestrained  by 
authority,  they  might  commit  crime.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
was  very  difficult  for  the  honest  miners  and  citizens  in  these 
exposed  camps,  having  come  from  many  and  diverse  sections, 
and  therefore  being  unacquainted  with  each  other — each  intent, 
moreover,  on  his  own  work  and  purposing  to  make  as  much 
money  as  he  could  and  get  away  as  soon  as  possible — it  was 
difficult  for  these  to  organize  in  opposition  to  violent  and  des- 
perate men.  Such  organization  became  doubly  difficult  and 
dangerous  when  the  roughs  themselves  were  leagued  together. 
Such  was  the  case  in  East  Bannock  in  1862-3.  A  gang  of  ruf- 
fians gathered  there,  coming  immediately  from  Florence,  Lewis- 
ton,  or  Walla  Walla,  but  with  a  schooling  in  crime  that  ex- 
tended back  to  Nevada  and  California.  Some  of  them  had 
learned  disrespect  for  law  by  experience  of  its  leniency  as  ad- 
ministered by  regularly  constituted  authorities.  Qualities  of 
manhood  were  not  wanting  among  some  of  their  number;  cour- 
age, skill  in  the  use  of  arms,  education,  ability  to  use  good  lan- 
guage, fidelity  to  friends,  personal  attractiveness,  and  social 
charm-qualities  which  gave  to  them  so  wide  a  circle  of  friends 
as  to  make  harder  the  task  of  punishing  them  for  their  vil- 
lanies.  But  robbery  and  murder  became  with  them  a  business. 
They  bound  themselves  together  by  oath,  adopted  special  marks 
of  identification,  and  arranged  means  of  communication.35 
Their  chief  was  Henry  Plummer.  Plummer  was  a  man  of  good 
manners,  somewhat  fastidious  as  to  dress,  usually  quiet  in  de- 
meanor and  self-controlled,  a  good  student  of  human  nature, 
and  keen  to  direct  and  take  advantage  of  public  opinion;  but 


35  The  names  of  the  gang  and  a  description  of  their  organization  may  be  found 
in  Langford,  Vigilante  Days  and  Ways,  Vol.  II,  p.   93. 

[371] 


236 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


he  was  also  venomous  in  animosity  and  so  unscrupulous  and 
determined  as  to  let  nothing  stand  in  his  way,  and  he  was  noted 
for  his  skill  with  the  revolver.  This  remarkable  man  so  in- 
gratiated himself  with  the  community  as  to  be  elected  miner's 
sheriff,  and  he  chose  as  some  of  his  deputies  members  of  his 
own  gang.30  The  inclusion  of  East  Bannock  and  neighboring 
camps  in  the  new  territory  of  Idaho  in  the  spring  of  1863,  did 
not  weaken  the  power  of  the  band;  for  Lewiston,  the  first  cap- 
ital, was  on  the  other  side  of  almost  impassable  mountains,  and 
the  legislature  did  not  meet  until  the  next  winter.  The  dis- 
covery of  Alder  Gulch  that  same  spring,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  inrush  of  thousands  of  people  (many  of  them  unused  to 
Western  ways),  and  the  production,  circulation,  and  transpor- 
tation of  many  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  gold  dust  gave 
to  the  desperadoes  opportunity  for  more  bold  and  extensive  op- 
erations. Villianies  multiplied.  No  traveler  was  safe  from  at- 
tack; merchants  were  compelled  to  extend  credit  with  no  hope 
of  repayment;  men  who  knew  the  authors  of  the  outrages  were 
killed,  driven  away,  or  silenced  by  threats;  citizens  who  made 
any  open  stand  for  law  were  marked  for  death.  The  miners' 
meetings  and  juries  were  swayed  by  the  desperadoes  and  their 
friends,  or  terrorized.  Robberies,  assassinations,  and  murders 
became  increasingly  common  and  wanton;  the  criminals  more 
defiant  and  insolent.  The  total  number  of  men  killed  mounted 
to  over  one  hundred. 

The  crisis  came,  December,  1863,  in  the  murder  in  an  atro- 
cious manner  of  a  young  German.  George  Ives,  a  prepossess- 
ing member  of  the  gang,  conspicuous  for  the  number  and  bold- 
ness of  his  crimes,  was  brought  to  trial  for  this  crime  before 
a  great  miners'  meeting  at  Nevada  City.  An  advisory  com- 
mission was  chosen,  and  lawyers  appeared  for  the  prosecution 
and  defense.  Delay  of  more  than  a  day  by  bickering  and  al- 
tercations was  ended  by  the  announcement  of  the  miners  that 
the  case  must  close  at  a  certain  hour.  The  commission,  with 
the  exception  of  one  man,  voted  guilty.  Then  came  a  period 


MPlummer  was  not  a  county  sheriff  under  regular  legal  authorization.  He 
even  schemed  to  become  deputy  United  States  Marshall,  and  nearly  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Union  League  at  Bannack  favored  his  appointment ;  id.  Vol.  I,  p.  382. 

[372] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  237 

of  hesitation  such  as  had  before  unnerved  the  friends  of  jus- 
tice. The  crowd  swayed  to  and  fro,  the  friends  of  the  pris- 
oner swore  that  he  should  not  die,  everywhere  were  confusion, 
doubt,  and  anxiety.  The  occasion  demanded  a  leader  of  more 
than  ordinary  courage  and  decision.  It  was  at  this  juncture 
that  Col.  W.  F.  Sanders  moved  "That  George  Ives  be  forth- 
with hanged  by  the  neck  until  he  is  dead."  The  motion  was 
carried,  and  Ives  was  hanged  within  an  hour. 

Some  account,  at  this  point,  of  the  character  and  career  of 
the  man  whose  leadership  at  this  critical  time  was  so  decisive 
for  the  cause  of  order,  may  not  be  amiss.  Wilbur  F.  Sanders 
was  born  May  2,  1834,  at  Leon,  New  York,  of  New  England  an- 
cestry, and  he  was  educated  at  Phelps  Academy.  He  removed 
at  the  age  of  twenty  to  Akron,  Ohio,  where  he  taught  school 
and  studied  law,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1856.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  he  recruited  a  company  of  infantry 
and  enlisted  in  the  64th  O.  V.  I.  He  was  in  active  service  un- 
til ill  health  compelled  him  to  resign,  and  he  then  went  in  com- 
pany with  his  uncle,  Judge  (afterward  Governor)  Edgerton  to 
Montana.  In  the  formative  era  of  Montana — from  the  mining 
camp  stage,  through  the  territorial  period,  to  established  state- 
hood— no  man  more  devotedly  labored  for  the  best  interests  of 
the  community  nor  better  served  the  cause  of  law  and  order 
than  did  Colonel  Sanders.  A  candidate  for  Congress  several 
times,  though  unsuccessful,  at  the  entrance  of  Montana  to  state- 
hood he  became  United  States  Senator.  He  died  July  7,  1905.3T 

Senator  Sanders  was  a  man  of  great  vigor,  activity,  and 
power  of  initiative.  His  two  leading  characteristics  were  in- 
trepidity and  honesty.  He  was  a  "superb  warrior"  and  de- 
lighted in  fighting  in  a  minority,  if  he  believed  that  he  was  in 
the  right.  His  was  not  a  nature  given  to  compromise,  and  he 
spoke  out  fearlessly  against  corruption.  The  very  intensity  of 
his  courage  and  integrity,  however,  made  him  sometimes  not 
absolutely  just,  and  the  poignancy  of  his  speech  produced 
enemies.  His  power  as  an  orator  was  very  great.  Men  who 
heard  him  at  the  time  of  the  Ives  trial  say  that  his  eloquence 


37  Mr.   Sanders  was  also  President  of  the  State   Historical  Society  and  Past 
Grand  Master  of  the  Masonic  order. 

[373] 


238 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


was  terrible.     He  had  a  marvelously  modulated  voice  and  an 
exceptionally  easy  and  precise  command  of  English.     His  ad- 
dresses on  historical  and  social  themes  reveal  power  to  discern 
conditions  clearly,   breadth  and  vividness  of  characterization, 
profound  comprehension  of  contemporary  tendencies,  and  mucl 
social  earnestness.     The  style  of  these  addresses,  even  in  thi 
reading,  compels  one's  attention  by  its  rapidity  and  breadth.5 
The  main  tendency  of  the  life  of  this  pioneer  leader  may 
learned  from  some  words  written  by  him  about  the  time  Mon- 
tana became  a  state.     The  man  "who  does  nothing  to  make  th( 
community  wiser  and  better,"  he  wrote,  "will  never  know  th< 
real  luxury  that  pertains  to  identification  with  the  foundei 
of  these  communities."     The  labor  of  the  first  pioneers  he  ex- 
plains, has  been  accomplished,  but  there  now  remains  the  found- 
ing of  the  State.     "It  will  be  a  very  unsatisfying  conscioi 
ness  when  we  recur  to  the  present  time  if  we  shall  only  have 
it  to  say  that  we  made  a-  fortune  for  ourselves,  that  we  were  a 
mere  observer  of  events,  when  we  are  also  conscious  that  we  did 
nothing  to  strengthen  the  intellectual  and  moral  force  that  out 
of  the  chaos  of  incoherent  life  is  to  evolve  law  and  order. '  '89 

A  stern  and,  under  the  circumstances,  a  necessary  first  step 
in  the  evolution  of  law  and  order  in  Montana  was  the  forma- 
tion  of  a  vigilante  organization.  A  few  of  the  citizens  of  Ne 
vada  and  Virginia;  started  the  movement  the  day  after  the  exe- 
cution of  Ives,  and  the  organization  spread  secretly  and  swiftly, 
until  it  came  to  embrace  a  majority  of  the  citizens  in  the  dif- 
ferent camps  who  were  resolute  to  bring  about  a  better  state 
of  affairs.  Paris  S.  Pfouts,  a  merchant  of  Virginia  City,  it  is 
now  known,  was  president  of  the  vigilantes,  and  Col.  Sanders 
was  legal  adviser  and,  as  one  pioneer  recently  expressed  it, 
"the  life  of  the  thing."  Among  the  executive  officers  were 
John  X.  Beidler,  Neil  Howie,  and  John  Featherston — a  trio 
unsurpassed  for  coolness  and  daring,  to  whom  Montana;  owes 


38  For  example  consult  Con.  His.  Soc.  Mon.  Vol.  IV,  pp.  38-48  and  122-148. 

39  Sketches  of  Early  Settlers  in  Montana,  by  Col.  W.  F.   Sanders,   MS.     My 
chief  sources  for  the  above  characterization  are  conversations  with  Judge  W.  Y. 
Pemberton   and   James   U.    Sanders,    son   of   Col.    Sanders ;    also   the   Maryville 
Mountaineer,  July  13,  1905,  and  the  Butte  Miner,  July  8,  1905. 

[374] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  239 

much  for  brave  enforcement  of  order  against  desperate  odds.40 
Other  leaders  or  "captains"  were  James  Williams  and  Richard 
Kenyon.  Among  these  leaders  were  both  ardent  secessionists 
and  unionists.  The  main  headquarters  were  at  Pfouts's  store 
in  Virginia  City,  and  a  notice  of  a  meeting  was  given  by  post- 
ing the  symbol,  3 — 7 — 77.  Miners  formed  the  rank  and  file  of 
the  organization. 

The  vigilantes  went  promptly  to  work,  with  the  purpose  not 
simply  of  driving  the  murderous  crew  to  other  communities  (as 
was  the  effect  of  some  vigilante  movements),  but  to  end  the 
careers  of  the  criminals.  "If  a  man  a'int  fit  to  live  here,'7 
remarked  one  vigilante,  "he  a'int  fit  to  live  nowhere."  One 
of  the  desperadoes  earliest  captured  revealed  the  names  and 
the  method  of  organization  of  the  gang.41  "Within  a  month 
more  than  a  score  of  criminals  were  summarily  executed,  'in- 
cluding Plummer.  The  work  was  done  for  the  most  part 
quietly  and  by  small  groups  of  men.42  One  must  admire  not 
only  the  valor  of  these  American  citizens  in  risking  their  lives 
to  effect  the  capture  and  execution  of  these  desperadoes,  but 
also  their  determination  in  making  long  journeys  in  the  depth 
of  a  severe  winter.  The  effect  of  this  heroic  work  was  health- 
ful. Criminals  were  cowed,  and  reckless  young  men  who  were 
drifting  toward  crime  were  appalled.  Violent  crimes  for  awhile 
ceased,  and  citizens  worked  and  traded  and  traveled  in  com- 
parative security.  "There  was  an  omnipresent  spirit  of  pro- 
tection, akin  to  that  omnipresent  spirit  of  law  which  pervaded 
older  civilized  communities."43  Summary  methods  of  Ameri- 
can citizens  in  the  mining  regions  attained  by  a  more  difficult 
and  dangerous  process  ends  not  unlike  those  attained  by  sum- 
mary government  in  British  Columbia. 

Two  documents  have  survived  which  reveal  something  of 
methods  of  organization  of  the  vigilantes  in  Alder  Gulch. 


40  Photographs  of  these  men  are  reproduced  in  Contr.  His.  800.  Mon.  Vol.  V.r 
op.  p.  210. 

41  Dimsdale,  Vigilantes  of  Mont.   (ed.  1882)  p.  120-21. 

42  On  occasion,  as  at  the  capture  and  execution  of  five   of  the  band  at  Vir- 
ginia City,  the  miners  assembled  in  large  numbers  and  acted  in  military  forma- 
tion. 

^Langford,  Vigilante  Days  and  Ways,  Vol.  II,  p.  232. 


[375] 


240 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


The  first  is  a  copy  of  their  regulations  and  by-laws,  and  is 
as  follows: 

"This  committee  shall  consist  of  a  President  or  Chief,  an 
Executive  officer,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Executive  committee 
Captains  and  Lieutenants  of  Companies,  and  such  gentlemen 
of  known  worth  and  integrity,  as  the  Captains,  Lieutenants 
and  other  officers  enumerated  above  may  deem  worthy  of  be- 
ing made  members. 

"The  President  shall  be  the  supreme  ruler  of  the  committee, 
shall  reside  in  Virginia  City,  and  shall  have  power  to  appoint 
Captains  to  raise  Companies  wherever  and  whenever  he  deems 
the  interests  of  the  committee  require  the  same  to  call  together 
the  Executive  Committee  whenever  the  same  should  be  con- 
vened to  order  the  arrest  of  any  suspicious  or  guilty  person, 
to  preside  at  all  meetings  whenever  present,  and  to  have  such 
other  powers  as  would  naturally  devolve  upon  one  occupying 
his  position. 

"A  majority  of  votes  of  the  Executive  Committee  shall  con- 
stitute an  election  for  President  and  he  shall  hold  the  office  un- 
til his  successor  is  appointed  and  accepts  the  position. 

"The  Executive  officer  shall  have  the  government  and  con- 
trol of  all  Captains,  Lieutenants,  and  companies,  shall  see  that 
all  orders  of  Chief  and  Executive  committee  are  duly  executed, 
shall  have  the  selections  of  all  persons  sent  out  upon  any  ex- 
peditions of  the  Executive  committee  and  choose  a  leader  for 
the  same  and  in  case  of  the  death  or  absence  of  the  chief  shall 
assume  the  duties  of  the  office  of  President,  until  a  new  Presi- 
dent is  chosen.  The  Secretary  shall  keep  a  correct  record  of 
all  things  proper  to  be  written,  the  names  of  the  Chief,  Execu- 
tive officer,  Secretary,  Treasurer  Executive  committee  and  the 
names  of  the  Captain  and  Lieutenants  of  Companies. 

"The  Treasurer  shall  receive  all  monies  belonging  to  the 
committee,  keep  a  true  account  of  the  same  and  pay  them  out 
again  upon  orders  of  the  Executive  committee  attested  by  the 
Secretary. 

"The  Executive  shall  consist  of  seventeen  members  to  wit: 
The  President,  Executive  officer,  Treasurer,  Secretary  of  the 
Committee,  four  persons  to  be  selected  from  Virginia  City,  three 

[376] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  241 

from  Nevada,  one  from  Junction,  one  from  Highland,  one  from 
Pine  Grove,  two  from  Summit,  and  one  from  Bivins  Gulch,  any 
eight  of  whom  shall  constitute  a  quorum.  It  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  Executive  committee  to  legislate  for  the  good  of  the  whole 
committee,  to  try  all  criminals  that  may  'be  arrested,  to  pass 
upon  all  accounts  that  may  be  presented,  and  if  just  to  order 
the  same  paid  by  the  Treasurer  and  to  take  a  general  super- 
vision of  all  criminal  acts  that  may  be  committed  within  this 
Territory  or  come  under  their  notice. 

"The  Captain  of  Companies  may  be  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, or  the  Executive  officer,  who  shall"  hold  their  offices  until 
elected  by  the  Companies  themselves,  every  Captain  shall  have 
power  to  appoint  one  or  more  Lieutenants.  The  Captains  and 
Lieutenants  shall  have  power  to  recruit  their  companies  from 
men  of  integrity  living  in  their  midst,  and  when  any  one  com- 
pany outside  of  Virginia  City  numbers  over  fifty  effective  men 
a  division  should  be  made,  and  two  companies  formed  from 
the  same  and  officers  elected  from  each. 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  members  to  attach  themselves  to 
some  company  and  whenever  any  criminal  act  shall  come  to 
their  knowledge  to  inform  his  Captain  or  Lieutenant  of  the 
same,  when  the  officers  so  informed  shall  call  together  the  mem- 
bers of  his  company,  (unless  the  Company  has  chosen  a  commit- 
tee for  such  purpose)  when  they  shall  proceed  to  investigate  the 
case,  and  elicit  the  facts  and  should  the  said  company  conclude 
that  the  person  charged  with  any  offense,  should  be  punished  by 
the  committee,  the  Captain  or  Lieutenant  will  first  take  steps  to 
arrest  the  criminal  and  then  report  the  same  with  proof  to  the 
Chief  who  will  thereupon  call  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  and 
the  judgmjent  of  said  executive  committee  shall  be  final. 

"The  only  punishment  that  shall  be  inflicted  by  this  com- 
mittee is  DEATH.44  The  property  of  any  person  executed  by 
this  committee  shall  be  immediately  seized  upon  and  disposed 
of  by  the  Executive  Committee  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the 
expense  of  the  Committee,  and  should  the  person  executed  have 


44  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  were  exceptions.  Two  lawyers,  Smith  and  Thur- 
mond, who  sympathized  with  and  defended  the  criminals,  were  banished,  and  one- 
man  was  whipped.  Imprisonment  was  impossible,  because  there  were  no  jails. 


[377] 


242  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

creditors  living  in  the  Territory,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
committee  to  first  pay  the  expenses  of  the  committee  and  Execu- 
tive and  funeral  expenses  afterwards,  pay  the  residue  over  to 
some  one  for  the  benefit  of  said  creditor." 

The  second  document  is  the  Vigilante  oath,  as  subscribed  to 
by  one  of  the  "companies,"  and  was  as  follows: 

"We  the  undersigned  uniting  ourselves  in  a  party  for  the 
Laudible  purpos  of  arresting  thievs  and  &  murderers  &  recov- 
ering stollen  propperty  do  pledge  ourselvs  upon  our  sacred 
honor  each  to  all  others  &  solemnly  swear  that  we  will  reveal 
no  secrets,  violate  no  laws  of  right  &  not  desert  each  other  or 
our  standerd  of  justice  so  help  us  God  as  witness  our  hand  & 
seal  this  23  of  December  1863.  "45 

Justifiable  as  the  organization  of  the  Vigilantes  of  Montana 
undoubtedly  was  under  the  circumstances,  nevertheless  there 
was  felt  to  be  danger  of  misdirection  or  of  misuse  of  a  weapon 
so  terrible;  and  this  was  the  more  true  after  the  most  critical 
time  had  passed,  and  careful  citizens  were  again  intent  on 
their  own  business.  In  some  cases, — more  conspicuous  else- 
where than  in  Montana, — men  of  criminal  character  would  join 
the  organization  as  a  shield  for  their  own  misdeeds,  and  these, 
with  other  despicable  or  chance  characters,  might  work  excess. 
One  man  was  executed  at  Nevada,  the  victim  of  whose  shooting 
afterwards  recovered ;  and  another  was  hanged  at  Helena  after 
trial  by  the  civil  authorities,  sentence  for  three  years,  and  par- 
don by  the  Executive.  Because  of  past  cases  of  doubtful  or 
wrongful  justice  in  the  infliction  of  the  death  penalty,  some  of 
the  old  Californians  in  Montana  were  opposed  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  vigilante  committee;  and  the  well  meaning  citizens 
who  took  part  in  the  movement  were  zealous  to  uphold  the  reg- 
ular civil  authority  and  willing  to  quit  their  organization, 
when  that  authority  proved  itself  thoroughly  competent  to  main- 
tain order. 

But  the  civil   authorities  had  first  to   establish  their  com- 
petence.    In  the  meantime,  the  people,  realizing  the  beneficence  of 


46  Original  copies  of  the  Constitution  and  Oath  given  above  are  in  the  Montana 
Historical  and  Miscellaneous  Library.  The  oath  itself  and  the  signatures  of 
the  signers  (of  whom  there  were  twenty-four)  are  in  the  cramped  writing 
.hands  more  used  to  the  pick  than  to  the  pen. 

'    [378] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  243 

the  work  done  by  the  vigilantes,  were  inclined  to  uphold  them. 
The  judges,  themselves,  recognized  the  temporary  necessity  for 
the  work  of  the  vigilantes.  Judge  Munson,  insisting  in  a  confer- 
ence with  other  judges  that  the  courts  should  take  cognizance  of 
some  of  the  executions,  was  told  by  one  of  the  judges:  "I  am 
content  to  let  the  vigilantes  go  on  for  the  present ;  they  can  attend 
to  this  branch  of  jurisprudence  cheaper,  quicker  and  better  than 
it  can  be  done  by  the  courts — besides  we  Jiave  no  secure  jails  in 
which  to  confine  criminals."  ^  A  grand  jury  in  one  of  the 
districts  is  reported  to  have  presented  to  the  court  in  lieu  of  an 
indictment, — "That  it  is  better  to  leave  the  punishment  of 
criminal  offenders  to  the  Vigilantes,  who  always  act  impartially,, 
and  who  would  not  permit  the  escape  of  proved  criminals  on 
technical  and  absurd  grounds."47  The  Montana  Post  claimed 
that  there  was  "No  jury  as  immovably  fair,  impartial  and  un- 
assailable, as  the  cold,  stern,  lynx-eyed,  iron-willed  and  even- 
handed  Executive  Committee,"48 

In  other  localities  covered  by  the  mining  advance  besides 
Montana  there  was  recourse,  as  occasion  demanded,  to  vigilante 
organization.  At  Lewiston  there  was  a  Protective  Association 
composed  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  good  citizens,  which  had  a 
president,  secretary,  and  executive  committee,  and  was  modeled 
on  the  plan  of  the  San  Francisco  Vigilante  Committee.  It  was 
said  to  have  hanged  three  murderers  and  to  have  exiled  about 
two  hundred  thieves  and  gamblers/'9  Renegades  from  the  mines 
were  active  in  Walla  Walla,  and  stockmen  were  especially  troubled 
by  their  running  off  stock  from  the  neighboring  hills  and  sell- 
ing it  in  Walla  Walla.  Summary  executions  brought  order.™ 
At  La  Grande,  Oregon,  a  vigilante  "lodge"  was  formed  having 
as  some  of  its  leading  members  the  Meachem  Brothers,  Doctor 
E.  A.  Stockton,  and  Lawyer  Bacon.51 

In  Southern  Idaho,  unity  such  as  prevailed  among  the  sup- 
porters of  law  and  order  in  Montana,  was.  unfortunately,  lack- 


4«  Contr.  His.  Soc.  Mon.,  Vol.  V.,  p.  209. 

47  Id. 

48  Quoted  in  the  Idaho  World,  May  26,   1866. 

49  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  May  5,  1863. 

50  Ritz,  Settlement  of  the  Great  Northern  Interior,  MS.,  p.  19. 
61  McConnell,  Idaho  Inferno,  MS.,  p.  54. 


[379] 


244  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

ing.  The  situation  here  was  complicated,  and  it  is  only  with 
difficulty  that  one  can  arrive  with  some  clearness  at  certain 
phases  of  the  situation,  which  need  careful  elucidation  as  part 
of  our  study/'2 

It  seems  certain  that  in  Southern  Idaho,  crime  was  prevalent 
to  a  degree  such  as  in  other  communities  had  been  held  to  war- 
rant the  formation  of  a  vigilante  committee.  There  was  fre- 
quent mention  in  the  papers  of  murders  and  robberies.  The 
district  attorney  stated  in  the  district  court  in  1865  that,  since 
the  organization  of  Boise  County,  there  had  been  sixty  deaths 
from  violence,  and  yet  not  a  single  conviction.53  The  Idaho 
World,  the  leading  Democratic  paper  and  an  opponent  of  the 
vigilante  organizations,  while  attributing  the  lack  of  legal  exe- 
cutions to  the  delay  in  organizing  the  territory  and  the  courts, 
admitted  that  no  one  had  been  hanged  for  murder  by  due  pro- 
cess, and  that  the  vigilantes  had  hanged  none  but  roughs.54 
These  latter  were  undoubtedly  numerous,  some  of  them  congre- 
gating at  road  houses  along  the  thoroughfares  and  others  in  the 
towns.  The  livery  stable  of  David  Updyke  at  Boise  City,  in 
particular,  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  rendezvous  for  a  bad 
crowd.55 

The  first  movement  toward  vigilante  methods  of  suppression 
occurred  among  the  ranchers  of  the  Payette  Valley,  who  had  lost 
considerable  stock  at  the  hands  of  insolent  ruffians  and  could 
get  little  satisfaction  from  lawful  authorities.  As  an  example 
of  the  inutility  of  legal  procedure  at  the  time,  the  case  of  one 
gentleman  may  be  mentioned  who,  when  a  horse  worth  fifty 
dollars  was  stolen  and  taken  to  Boise  City,  sued  out  an  attach- 
ment and  recovered  the  animal  but  at  an  expense  of  seventy 
dollars.  A  small  organization  of  the  ranchers  was  effected, 
thieves  were  pursued  long  distances,  several  of  them  were  exe- 
cuted, and  thievery  in  the  valley  was  summarily  checked/'6  The 


.     52The  main  trouble  is  that  politics  entered   into  the  situation,  and  that  the 
sources  are  influenced  by   political  affiliations. 

53  The   Idaho  Statesman,   Sept.   3,   1865. 

54  The  Idaho  World,  Oct.  2,  1865;  April  28,  1866. 

65  As  to  the  career  of  Updyke,  see  Langford,  Vigilante  Days  and  Ways,  Vol.  II, 
Chap.  XXII. 

56  The  leading  spirit  of  this  organization  was  Mr.  W.  J.  McConnell,  who  gives 
an  interesting  accoiint  under  the  caption  of  Idaho  Inferno,  MS.  Mr.  McConnell 
later  became  Governor  of  Idaho  and  United  States  Senator. 

[380] 


x    TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  245 

vigilante  movement  was  manifested  again  in  August*  1865,  in 
the  attempt  to  take  Patterson  from  jail ;  and  an  atrocious  murder 
in  Boise  City  at  Updyke's  barn  (April,  1866,)  was  followed  by 
prompt  hanging  at  the  hands  of  a  vigilante  committee.  A  little 
later  Up  dyke  himself  was  hanged  with  a  companion  on  the 
Rocky  Bar  Eoad;  some  authorities  claim  that  this  was  done  by 
the  Boise  vigilantes,  others  by  an  organization  of  Overland  em- 
ployes.57 

Updyke  had  been  the  Sheriff  of  Ada  County,  regularly  elected 
as  such,  but  being  charged  with  embezzlement  he  had  resigned. 
He  was  a  man  of  genial  character,  who  made  many  friends,  and 
he  was  a  leading  Democratic  politician.  The  Idaho  World 
claimed  that  his  execution  was  really  a  murder,  having  for  its  ob- 
ject getting  possession  of  the  money  that  was  on  his  person, 
' '  gratification  of  personal  hate,  and  to  get  a  powerful  political  foe 
out  of  the  way. ' '  The  organization  of  a  vigilance  committee,  the 
World  claimed  was  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the 
summer  elections  against  the  Democratic  party.58  This  charge 
that  the  vigilante  organizations  of  Southern  Idaho  were  poli- 
tical in  purpose  and  inimical  to  the  Democratic  party,  was  again 
and  again  reiterated.  The  World  admitted,  however,  that  at 
the  time  of  the  Patterson  affair,  "  There  were  undoubtedly  many 
who  went  into  the  organization  with  the  laudable  desire  of  free- 
ing the  community  of  much  which  is  deservedly  the  object  of 
reprobation  with  every  good  citizen,  having  no  ulterior  objects 
in  view  other  than  that  of  the  good  society."  But  there  was  a 
legally  constituted  (government  in  Idaho,  so  the  Democrats! 
argued,  and  the  majority  of  the  people  were  in  favor  of  civil 
government,  not  of  mob  rule.59  On  the  other  hand,  the  Re- 
publicans charged  that  the  Democratic  political  organization, 
having  the  power,  did  not  enforce  the  laws;  "make  the  people- 
believe  that  you  are  in  good  faith  trying  to  enforce  it  (the.  law),'" 
said  The  Statesman,  "and  we  shall  hear  no  more  of  vigilance 
committees  and  lynch  law."GO  The  situation  appears  to  have 


67  The  latter  view,   for  example,   by  McConnell,    p.   55 ;   the  former  by   Lang- 
ford,  Vol.  II,  p.  352. 

68  The  Idaho  World,  April  14,  1866. 
39  Id.,  Oct.  2,  1865. 

80  The  Idaho  Weekly  Statesman,  Sept.   3,   1865. 

[381] 


246  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

been  that  there  were  politicians  in  both  parties  who  were  willing 
to  place  party  advantage  above  the  good  of  the  community,  but 
that  the  majority  of  the  number  of  both  parties  were  sincerely 
desirous  of  more  orderly  government;  that  those  of  the  people 
who  tried  to  act  through  vigilante  organization  were  confronted 
by  the  fact  that  they  put  themselves  in  an  attitude  of  antago- 
nism to  the  regular  authorities,  while  the  people  who  upheld  the 
authorities,  and  particularly  the  political  organization  of  the 
dominant  party,  were  hampered  by  the  fact  that  they  were  in 
political  affiliation  with,  and  dependent  upon,  men  for  votes, 
whose  character  they  could  not  defend.  At  any  rate,  the  situa- 
tion was  such  that  neither  the  extra  legal  organization  nor  the 
legal  authorities  could  deal  decisively  with  the  criminal  element, 
;and  so  the  evolution  of  law  and  order  in  Idaho  was  slower  and 
more  confused  than  in  Montana.61 

Reviewing  in  conclusion,  the  prominent  features  of  the  differ- 
ent governmental  forms  applied  under  the  British  and  under  the 
American  auspices  in  the  mining  advance,  we  see,  on  the  one 
hand,  government  concentrated  largely  in  the  hands  of  an  effici- 
ent executive,  who  made  laws  and  organized  administration  on 
summary  methods;  on  the  other,  representative  government, 
under  hampering  conditions,  working  tardily  .and  painfully 
towards  order,  and  meeting  local  or  occasional  reinforcement. 
Under  the  former  society  was  from  the  first  under  control,  and 
there  was  a  tendency  to  restrain  individuals  for  the  benefit  of 
society — a  restraint  at  times  verging  to  over  repression;  under 
the  latter  individualism  was  feebly  controlled  from  above,  but 


81  A  curious  fact  in  the  party  politics  of  Idaho  at  this  time  is  the  connection 
between  Fenianism  and  the  Democratic  party.  The  leaders  of  that  party  in 
Boise  County  (which  was  far  the  most  populous  county  in  the  Territory  at  that 
time  and  with  political  power  proportionate  to  population)  were  on  close 
terms  with  or  members  of  the  Fenian  Organization.  On  the  Invitation  and  Re- 
ception Committees  of  a  Grand  Fenian  Ball  given  by  the  Emmett  Life  Guards 
were  E.  D.  Holbrook,  Democratic  candidate  for  Delegate  to  Congress,  James 
Crutcher,  Democratic  Sheriff,  Street,  the  Editor  of  the  World,  Mix,  nominee  for 
representative,  and  a  number  of  other  prominent  Democrats.  John  M.  Murphy, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Democratic  Territorial  Central  Committee,  was  the  State 
Centre  of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood.  For  substantiation  of  these  statements  com- 
pare lists  of  Democratic  nominees  in  the  Idaho  World,  May  12  and  June  26,  1866, 
with  the  leaders  at  the  Fenian  Ball,  published  June  30,  1866.  It  was  charged 
by  Republicans  that  Fenianism  was  being  used  by  Democrat  politicians.  Idaho 
Weekly  Statesman,  April  22,  1866. 

[382] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  247 

had  to  generate  within  itself  forces  of  order,  and  it  tended 
to  undue  license  hurtful  to  society.  The  American  system  devel- 
oped a  country  the  more  swiftly,  the  British  the  more  safely. 
Under  hoth  systems  strong  men  labored  courageously  and  well 
to  adjust  forms  of  order  to  unorganized  society. 


[383] 


248  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


A  SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY 
I.    MANUSCRIPT  SOURCES 

The  most  important  manuscripts  for  this  study  are  located 
in  three  libraries  specified  below.  Only  manuscripts  of  chief 
weight  for  this  work  are  mentioned. 

1.  The  Montana  Historical  Library  at  Helena. 

Bradley,  Lieut.  James  H. 

(a)  Affairs  at  Ft.  Benton  1831—1864. 

(b)  Effects   at  Ft.   Benton   of  the   Gold  Excitement  in 

Montana. 

(c)  A  General  View  of  the  Settlement  of  Montana. 

Benedict,  Gilbert. 

Diary  of  an  Immigrant  of  1864. 

Haskell,  Wm.  S. 

Pilgrimage  to  the  Gold  Regions,  1864. 

Howie,  Neil,  Letters. 

Hough,  Rev.  A.  M. 

The  Establishment  of  our  Mission  in  Montana — 
Notes  from  my  Diary. 

Morley,  J.  H. — Diary.  (Of  special  value  for  Bannack  and  Alder 
Gulch.) 

Sanders,  Senator  W.  F. 

Sketches  of  Early  Settlers  in  Montana. 

i 
Williams,  Capt.  James. 

Interview  and  Autobiographical   Sketch. 

Williams,  A.  M.  and  Wheeler,  Wm.  F. 
History  of  Mining  in  Montana. 

Vigilante  Constitution  and  Oath. 

[384] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  249 

2.  The  Library  of  the  Academy  of  Pacific  Coast  History  (The 

Bancroft  Collection). 

Ainsworth,  Capt.  J.  C.  Statement.     (Refers  particularly  to 

0.  S.  N.  Co.) 
Anderson,  Alexander  Caulfield.     History  of  the  Northwest 

Coast. 

Ballou,  William  T. — Adventures. 

Branstetter,  J.  H.     The  First  Discovery  of  Boise  Basin. 
Bristol,  Sherlock.    Idaho  Nomenclature. 
Butler,  J.  S.    Life  and  Times  in  Idaho. 
Coghanour,  David.     Boise  Basin. 

Deady,  M.  P.    History  of  the  Progress  of  Oregon  after  1845. 
De  Cosmos,  Amor.     The  Governments  of  Vancouver  Island 

and  British  Columbia. 
Douglas,  Sir  James.    Diary  of  Gold  Discovery  on  Fraser 

River.    Private  Papers. 

Evans,  Elwood.     The  Fraser  River  Excitement. 
Farnham,  Edwin.     Statement.     (Concerning  Salmon  River 

and  Warren's) 
Finlayson,   Roderick.     The  History   of  Vancouver  Island 

and  the  Northwest  Coast. 
Hofen,  Leo,    History  of  Idaho  County. 
Hutton,  James  H.     Early  Events  in  Northern  Idaho. 
Joset,  Father.     The  War  of  1855—58. 
Knapp,  Henry  H.    Statement  of  Events  in  Idaho. 
Maize,  H.  B.     Early  Events  in  Idaho.     (Deals  particularly 

with  Owyhee) 

McConnell,  W.  J.     The  Idaho  Inferno. 
Ritz,  Philip.     Settlement  of  the  Great  Northern  Interior. 
Roder,  ;.Capt.   Henry.     Narrative   Concerning  Bellingham 

Bay. 
Schultze,  Mrs.   Theodore.    Anecdotes  of  the  Early  Settle- 

ment  of  Northern  Idaho. 

3.  Provincial  Library  and  Archives  of  British  Columbia,  Victoria. 

There  are  two  classes  of  material  here  which  deserve  special 
consideration.     The  first  pertains  closely  to  Sir  James  Douglas 

[385] 


250  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

and  includes  his  Letters  and  Proclamations.  The  letters  are 
found  mainly  in  his  Miscellaneous  Letters  and  in  his  Correspon- 
dence Book. 

Douglas's  letters  to  the  gold  commissioners  and  magistrates  in 
the  various  mining  districts  in  British  Columbia  very  urgently 
required  these  subordinates  to  furnish  full  and  detailed  reports. 
After  a  persistent  search,  which  was  made  possible  by  the  help 
of  the  officials  of  the  Parliamen-t  buildings  (and  in  particular  by 
the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Arthur  Campbell  Reddie,  Assistant  Provin- 
cal  Secretary),  these  reports  and  letters  from  the  gold  commis- 
sioners were  found  among  a  mass  of  material  in  the  archives  of 
the  secretary's  office.  They  constitute  a  most  satisfactory  and 
reliable  source  for  the  history  of  the  early  period  of  British 
Columbia  mining.  The  commissioners  were  men  of  considerable 
education,  who  were  placed  in  positions  of  responsibility  wfore- 
in  it  was  more  to  their  interest  to  give  a  true  account  of  what 
was  occurring  than  to  exaggerate,  and  their  letters  were  not 
intended  for  publication.  If  these  letters  could  be  sorted  out, 
edited,  and  published,  they  would  furnish  valuable  material  not 
only  for  British  Columbia  history  but  for  the  general  history  of 
the  precious  metal  industry. 

II.    NEWSPAPERS 

One  of  the  significant  features  of  the  mining  advance  was  the 
swift  establishment  of  newspapers  in  all  important  centers.  The 
miining  population  wanted  the  news  and  was  willing  to  pay  for 
it;  in  particular  there  was  demand  for  news  of  the  Civil  War. 
The  following  newspapers  were  selected  as  representative: 

The  Washington  Statesman.     (Walla  Walla) 

The  Idaho  World.     (Idaho  City) 

The  Boise  Statesman.     (Boise) 

The  Owyhee  Avalanche.     (Silver  City) 

The  Montana  Post.     (Virginia  City) 

The  British  Columbian.     (New  Westminster) 

The  Cariboo  Sentinel.     (Barkerville) 

Other  papers  of  the  mining  regions  were  the  Golden  Age, 
(Lewiston),  The  Rocky  Mountain  Gazette,  (Helena),  and  The 
Dalles  Mountaineer. 

[386] 


THIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  251 

Papers  more  remote  from  the  mining  region  were  in  direct 
touch  with  them  and  contain  much  valuable  information.  Of 
this  character  were  the  Victoria  Gazette  and  Colonist.  In 
the  Sound  country,  among  others,  were  the  Puget  Sound  Herald 
(Steilacooni),  and  The  Pioneer  and  Democrat  (Olympia).  At 
Portland  was  The  Oregonian,  with  correspondents  in  many 
camps.  The  San  Francisco  Daily  Bulletin,  whose  columns 
ranged  the  whole  vast  mining  field,  is  the  best  single  newspaper 
source.  The  wide  sweep  of  its  news  items  and  of  its  editorial 
surveys  emphasizes  the  fact  that  San  Francisco  was  the  metro- 
polis of  the  American  mining  movement.  The  London  Times 
contained  reports  from  correspondents  in  British  Columbia  and 
valuable  comments  on  conditions.  Mention  should  also  be  made 
of  The  Mining  and  Scientific  Press,  a  magazine  published  at 
San  Francisco.1 

III.     CONTEMPORARY  DOCUMENTS  AND  BOOKS 

1.  Government  Reports. 

Up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  comprehensive  informa- 
tion was  furnished  by  the  army  administrators.  Their  reports 
are  to  be  found  in  The  Reports  of  the  Secretary  of  War.  The 
sudden  dearth  that  falls  on  the  opening  of  the  war  is  signifi- 
cant as  revealing  the  withdrawal  of  these  trained  administrators. 
About  the  same  time  came  the  officials  of  the  Indian  department, 
whose  reports  are  to  be  found  in  The  Reports  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs.  In  1866,  with  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
J.  Ross  Browne  as  United  States  Commissioner  of  Mining  Statis- 
tics, came  new  and  indispensable  sources.  The  reports  of  Mr. 
Browne  and  of  his  successor  Mr.  R.  W.  Raymond,  entitled  Min- 
eral Resources  of  the  United  States  appeared  from  1867  to  1876, 
and  these  must  be  studied  by  any  one  wishing  to  know  the 
mining  history  of  the  period.  Other  important  sources  are  the 
Journals,  Records,  Session  Laws  and  Reports  of  the  legislative 
bodies  and  officials  of  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  and  Montana. 

For  British  Columbia  we  have  Papers  regarding  British  Co- 


1  Hon.  C.  B.  Bagley,  of  Seattle,  possesses  one  of  the  most  valuable  collections 
of  newspapers  on  the  Pacific  Coast.     I  am  greatly  indebted  to  him  for  cordially 


allowing  me  to  use  it. 

[387] 


252  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

lumbia  presented  to  Parliament  by  Command  of  her  Majesty. 
The  official  Gazette,  published  at  New  Westminster,  is  also  im- 
portant. Of  a  semi-official  character  !and  valuable  are  fthe 
Occasional  Papers  of  the  Columbian  Mission.  On  the  Indian 
question  invaluable  are  the  Papers  relating  to  the  Indian  Land 
Question. 

2.  Private  publications. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  the  bibliographical  material  for  British 
Columbia  is  the  large  number  of  books  concerning  that  colony, 
which  were  published  in  Great  Britain  during  the  early  years  of 
the  colony, — a  fact  indicating  the  great  interest  of  the  public 
and  the  government.  Some  of  them  are  as  follows : 

Barret-Lennard,    Capt.    C.    E.     Travels   in   British   Columbia. 
(London,  1862) 

Cornwallis,  Kinahan,  The  New  Eldorado.     (London,  1858) 

Emmerson,   John,    British  'Columbia   and   Vancouver  Island, 
(Durham,  1865) 

Hazlitt,  W.  C.    British  Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island.     (Lon- 
don, 1858) 

Hazlitt,  W.  C.     The  Great  Gold  Fields  of  Cariboo.     (London, 
1862) 

Johnson,  R.  Byron.     Very  Far  West  Indeed.     (London,  1872) 

MacDonald,  D.  G.  P.     British  Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island. 
(London,  1862) 

Macfie,  M.     Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia.     (London, 
1865) 

Mayne.  R.  C.     Four  years  in  British  Columbia  and  Vancouver 
Island.     (London,  1862) 

Milton  and  Cheadle.     The  Northwest  Passage  by  Land.     (Lon- 
don, 1865) 

Rattray,  A.     Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia.     (Lon- 
don, 1862) 

[388] 


TRIMBLE— MINING  ADVANCE  253 

Wyld's  New  Map  of  the  Gold  Fields  on  the  Fraser's  River. 
Printed  at  London  1858  and  1859  by  James  Wyld.  Geogra- 
pher to  the  Queen. 

A  number  of  pamphlets  concerning  British  Columbia  were  is- 
sued from  Ottawa,  New  Westminster  and  Victoria.  References  to 
some  of  these  are  found  in  the  text. 

In  the  American  territories  works  by  contemporary  observers 
were  rare.  Mention  may  be  made  of  the  following  pamphlets. 

Angelo,  C.    Idaho. 

Campbell,  J.  S.     Six  Months  in  the  Neiv  Gold  Diggings- 

Dimsdale,  T.  J.     The  Vigilantes  of  Montana. 

Leighton,  Mrs.  Caroline  C.  Life  at  Puget  Sound,  with  Sketches 
of  Travel. 

Langley.    Pacific  Coast  Directory. 

Mullan,  John.     Miner's  and  Traveller's  Guide. 

There  are  valuable  passages  also  in  Our  Neiv  West,  by  Sam- 
uel Bowles  and  in  Our  New  States  and  Territories  and  Beyond 
the  Mississippi  by  Albert  D.  Richardson. 

Some  comparatively  recent  publications  give  satisfying  mater- 
ial for  the  earlier  time.  Of  these  the  Contributions  to  the  His- 
torical Society  of  Montana  are  very  serviceabls.  Valuable 
articles  have  been  published  also  in  the  Oregon  Historical 
Quarterly.  Hailey's  History  of  Idaho  and  Goulder's  Reminis- 
cences furnish  suggestive  and  important  material. 

3.  General  and  Secondary  "Works. 
Bancroft,  H.  H.     British  Columbia.    1792—1887 
Bancroft,  H.  H.     Washington,  Idaho  and  Montana. 
Bancroft,  H.  H.     Popular  Tribunals. 

Begg,  A.  History  of  British  Columbia  from  the  Earliest  Dis- 
covery to  the  Present  Time. 

Lyman,  W.  D.  The  Columbia  River;  its  History,  its  Myths,  its 
Scenery,  its  Commerce. 

[389] 


254  BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

Mean3T,  E.  S.     History  of  the  State  of  Washington. 

Schafer,  Joseph.     History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest. 

On  mining  law  the  following  may  be  consulted: 

Davis,  John  F.  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Mining  Law  in  Cal- 
ifornia. 

Lindley,  Curtis  Holbrook.  A  Treatise  on  the  American  Law 
Relating  to  Mines  and  Mineral  Lands  within  the  public  land 
States  and  Territories  and  governing  the  acquisition  and 
enjoyment  of  Mining  Rights  in  the  Public  Domain.  (Con- 
tains a  succinct  and  scholarly  historical  review,  Vol  I 
pp.  5-115.) 

Yale,  Gregory.  Legal  titles  to  Mining  Claims  and  Water  Rights 
in  California  under  the  Mining  Law  of  Congress  of  July, 
1866. 


[390] 


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